title: Interleukin-2 production by human pre-implantation embryos.
abstract: The study was conducted to determine whether pre-implantation embryos secrete interleukin-2. Conditioned media of 27 embryos derived from women during in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles were analyzed for interleukin-2 concentration. The results showed that conditioned embryo medium from the two pronuclei stage to 24 hours later contains interleukin-2. Endometrial large granular lymphocytes, which are probably involved in placentation, replicate in response to interleukin-2. It may therefore be speculated that interleukin-2 secreted by human embryos may modulate the function and replication of large granular lymphocytes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tiqva, Israel.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Orvieto
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bar-Hava
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shelef
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ben-Rafael
mesh_terms: D001755:Blastocyst / Q000378:metabolism*; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D046508:Culture Techniques; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D007376:Interleukin-2