title: Detection of follicular fluid and serum antibodies by protein microarrays in women undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment.
abstract: A protein microarray serological assay was used to assess the antibody profile of 102 women subjected to in vitro fertilization treatment. The studies were conducted on pairs of serum and follicular fluid samples, collected from each woman on the same day at the time of oocyte recovery. The samples, stored as frozen aliquotes, were assessed by both microarray and ELISA. Follicular fluids and sera were screened to detect the presence of specific IgG and IgM antibodies against seven vertically transmitted pathogens. The IgG reactivity of follicular fluids closely mirrored that of serum in all the patients and for all the antigens, with an agreement of more than 85%. IgM antibodies were undetectable in follicular fluids. The antibody patterns were subsequently related to the biological and clinical outcomes of in vitro fertilization cycles. The results showed that varicella zoster virus (VZV) IgG positive women and cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgG negative women had on average a higher number of inseminated, good quality oocytes compared to VZV IgG negative and CMV IgG positive women. In addition, the rate of successful embryo transfers was significantly higher in Toxoplasma gondii IgG negative women than in their positive counterparts. Overall, the microarray was proven to be a suitable tool for detecting analytes in follicular fluids, therefore supporting its application in a wide spectrum of investigations.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze di Sanità Pubblica, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ardizzoni
authors.forename: Lidia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Manca
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Capodanno
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Baschieri
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rondini
authors.forename: Samuele
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peppoloni
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Righi
authors.forename: Giovanni Battista
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: La Sala
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Blasi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D015571:Follicular Fluid / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000378:metabolism; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D040081:Protein Array Analysis / Q000379:methods; D044967:Serum / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G