title: The relationship of seminal transforming growth factor-β1 and interleukin-18 with reproductive success in women exposed to seminal plasma during IVF/ICSI treatment.
abstract: It has been proposed that the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 present in seminal plasma (SP) triggers a female immune response favorable for implantation. We hypothesize that seminal interleukin (IL)-18, a cytokine that can potentially cause implantation failure, interferes with the beneficial effect of TGF-β1. This study aims to determine whether the levels of seminal TGF-β1 and IL-18 are associated with reproductive outcomes in patients exposed to SP during in vitro fertilization (IVF) or IVF with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). A prospective study, which included 71 couples undergoing IVF/ICSI was carried out. Female patients were exposed to their partners' SP via timed intercourse before the day of ovum pick-up (OPU) and also subjected to intravaginal SP application just after OPU. Quantitative measurements of total TGF-β1 (active plus latent) as well as IL-18 were determined by FlowCytomix™ technology in the SP to be used for intravaginal applications. Comparison of SP cytokine profiles between pregnant and non-pregnant groups revealed that pregnancy was correlated with a lower concentration of IL-18 (P=0.018) and lower content per ejaculate for both of IL-18 (P=0.0003) and TGF-β1 (P=0.047). The ratio of TGF-β1-to-IL-18 concentration was significantly higher in the pregnant than in the non-pregnant group (P=0.026). This study supports the notion that two key cytokines TGF-β1 and IL-18, both present in SP are associated with reproductive outcomes in female patients exposed to SP during IVF/ICSI treatment.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, The Federal State Budget Institution "Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology" of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Oparina Str. 4, 117997 Moscow, Russia. Electronic address: nikolaeva_ma@mail.ru.
authors.forename: Marina A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Nikolaeva
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, The Federal State Budget Institution "Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology" of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Oparina Str. 4, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Alina A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Babayan
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, The Federal State Budget Institution "Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology" of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Oparina Str. 4, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Elena O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Stepanova
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, The Federal State Budget Institution "Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology" of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Oparina Str. 4, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Veronika Y
authors.initials: VY
authors.lastname: Smolnikova
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, The Federal State Budget Institution "Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology" of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Oparina Str. 4, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Elena A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Kalinina
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, C04 3SQ England, UK.
authors.forename: Nelson
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, The Federal State Budget Institution "Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology" of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Oparina Str. 4, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Lubov V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Krechetova
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, The Federal State Budget Institution "Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology" of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Oparina Str. 4, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Ludmila V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Vanko
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, The Federal State Budget Institution "Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology" of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Oparina Str. 4, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Gennady T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Sukhikh
mesh_terms: D000282:Administration, Intravaginal; D000328:Adult; D010064:Embryo Implantation; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012661:Semen / Q000378:metabolism*; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D020382:Interleukin-18; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta
keywords: IVF/ICSI outcome; Interleukin-18; Seminal plasma; Transforming growth factor-β1