A Homozygous Variant in HSD17B1 Identified in Women With Poor Ovarian Response

An increasing number of patients utilizing in vitro fertilization (IVF) and assisted reproductive technology (ART) are characterized as impaired or poor ovarian responders (PORs). Owing to its unclear molecular etiology, the management of patients with age-related ovarian characteristics remains a controversial and complex clinical concern. Therefore, it is important to identify and understand the etiological causes behind POR to develop more effective and efficient management strategies for these patients. In this study, we report a homozygous HSD17B1 (accession number: NM_000413.4) variant (c.718-1G>C) in a patient with POR from a consanguineous family. The proband, a 33-years-old woman, exhibited poor ovarian reserve prestimulation parameters (antral follicle count < 5; anti-Müllerian hormone = 0.386 ng/mL), resulting in the classification of this patient as patient oriented strategies encompassing individualized oocyte number (POSEIDON) group three according to the POSEIDON criteria. Additionally, this patient displayed impaired estradiol production and reduced 17-ketosteroids secretion and multiple ovarian cysts, which differed from previously reported POR cases. Overall, our findings provide valuable insights for researchers and clinicians into the relationships between the phenotype and genotype of POR and the HSD17B1 gene.