Symposium: innovative techniques in human embryo viability assessment. Soluble human leukocyte antigen-G and pregnancy success.
Non-invasive methods of assessing embryo quality are critical for pregnancy success following IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The addition of new non-invasive morphological and biochemical analyses may further improve pregnancy success, allowing the transfer of a single embryo, thereby reducing the risks involved in multiple births following IVF/ICSI. The presence of a protein, soluble human leukocyte antigen-G (sHLA-G), in embryo cultures has been suggested as a way to non-invasively predict embryo quality and pregnancy success, especially when used in conjunction with current embryo quality assessment methods. Detection of sHLA-G in embryo culture medium has been correlated with pregnancy success in 12 studies, but three studies were not able to detect sHLA-G. This is a review of the literature on sHLA-G detection in IVF/ICSI, and reasons are proposed for the reported discrepancies, as well as guidelines for reporting of data in future studies. Furthermore, it is suggested that the use of an HLA-G transgenic mouse model would advance understanding of the mechanism of action of sHLA-G in preimplantation embryos and its correlation to embryo health and viability. Research on a mouse model, combined with clinical studies, should enable the development of a fast and reliable method for utilizing sHLA-G detection to improve pregnancy success after IVF/ICSI.
Department of Biology, 134 Mugar Hall, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA. c.warner@neu.edu
Carol M
CM
Warner
Paula W
PW
Lampton
Judith A
JA
Newmark
Jacques
J
Cohen
D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000379:methods; D005328:Fetal Viability / Q000502:physiology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D019836:Preimplantation Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D012098:Reproduction / Q000235:genetics; D012995:Solubility
D006680:HLA Antigens; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; C032907:Q surface antigens