Increase in concentration of soluble HLA-G in high-quality embryos after intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Abstract

Non-invasive methods are normally preferred to conventional invasive methods when selecting suitable embryos to improve pregnancy rates after assisted reproduction techniques. One of the most recognized non-invasive methods is to examine the supernatants of embryo culture media. Soluble human leukocyte antigen, class I, G (sHLA-G) antigen is a non-classical class I molecule that has been widely considered as a marker of pregnancy failure or implantation success. In the current study of some Iranian patients, we examined the concentration of sHLA-G at different time points after intracytoplasmic sperm injection and compared the rates to the morphology and quality of the selected embryos. We showed that the concentration of sHLA-G increases over time in high-quality embryos. We conclude that there is a positive relationship between morphology, quality, and sHLA-G concentration. We suggest that this relationship can be used to increase the chance of a successful pregnancy.

Keywords: Assisted reproductive techniques; HLA antigen; Intracytoplasmic sperm injections.

Fig. 1

The morphology of embryos at different time points post-intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) (×400). (A1) An embryo 48 h post-ICSI. (A2). An embryo 48 h post-ICSI, although the quality was lower compared to A1. (B1) An embryo 72 h post-ICSI. (B2) An embryo 72 h post-ICSI, although the quality was lower compared to B1. (C1) An embryo 72 h post-ICSI at morula stage. (C2) An embryo 72 h post-ICSI at morula stage, although the quality was lower compared to C1.

Fig. 2

The concentration of sHLA-G in each group measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. (A) The concentration in all groups/subgroups. (B) Comparison of the concentration between each subgroup 1. Note that the concentration increased in each group compared to the previous group. (C) Comparison of the concentration between each subgroup 2. Addition of C1 in this figure was to show there was no statistically significant change between subgroups 2. Each data point represents three independent measurements and the error bars indicate the standard error of the mean. sHLA-G, soluble human leukocyte antigen, class I, G. ^*P<0.05 were referred to as statistically significant differences.