Kanannejad Z, Jahromi BN, Gharesi-Fard B. Seminal plasma and CD4
+ T-cell cytokine profiles in the
in vitro fertilization success.
JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN MEDICAL SCIENCES 2020;
25:26. [PMID:
32419783 PMCID:
PMC7212999 DOI:
10.4103/jrms.jrms_238_19]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Revised: 08/25/2019] [Accepted: 12/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Background:
Abnormal female immune response is one of the potential causes of unexplained infertility (UI). Seminal plasma (SP) is an important regulator of female immune responses during pregnancy. This study investigated a SP effect on the expression of CD4+ T-cell-related cytokines in a group of UI woman candidates for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and healthy fertile women.
Materials and Methods:
This was a semi-experimental study that performed on 20 UI couples (ten unsuccessful and ten successful IVF outcomes) and 10 fertile couples as the healthy group. CD4+ T-cells were separated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of women by magnetic-activated cell sorting technique and incubated with (stimulated condition) or without (unstimulated condition) SP of their husbands. After incubation, real-time polymerase chain reaction method was used to investigate interleukin (IL)-23, IL-17, IL-4, IL-10, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, and interferon (IFN)-γ gene expression. Mann–Whitney U-test, Kruskal–Wallis test, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used for statistical analysis.
Results:
Baseline TCD4+ mRNA levels of IL-23 (P = 0.03) and TGF-β (P = 0.01) were different between healthy and infertile groups. However, IL-17, IL-4, IFN-γ, and IL-10 were expressed similarly regardless of fertility status. Comparing mRNA expression before and after SP exposure, our results have shown that relative expression of IL-23 significantly increased in successful (P = 0.04) and unsuccessful IVF groups (P = 0.01), whereas IL-10 expression increased only in the IVF failure group (P = 0.01).
Conclusion:
SP can make a positive effect on IVF outcome through alteration in CD4 + T-cell-related cytokines expression, especially IL-10 and IL-23.
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