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. 2020 Mar 18:25:26.
doi: 10.4103/jrms.JRMS_238_19. eCollection 2020.

Seminal plasma and CD4+ T-cell cytokine profiles in the in vitro fertilization success

Zahra Kanannejad  1 , Bahia Namavar Jahromi  2   3 , Behrouz Gharesi-Fard  1   3
Affiliations

Seminal plasma and CD4+ T-cell cytokine profiles in the in vitro fertilization success

Zahra Kanannejad et al. J Res Med Sci. .

Abstract

Background: Abnormal female immune response is one of the potential causes of unexplained infertility (UI). Seminal plasma (SP) is an important regulator of female immune responses during pregnancy. This study investigated a SP effect on the expression of CD4+ T-cell-related cytokines in a group of UI woman candidates for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and healthy fertile women.

Materials and methods: This was a semi-experimental study that performed on 20 UI couples (ten unsuccessful and ten successful IVF outcomes) and 10 fertile couples as the healthy group. CD4+ T-cells were separated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of women by magnetic-activated cell sorting technique and incubated with (stimulated condition) or without (unstimulated condition) SP of their husbands. After incubation, real-time polymerase chain reaction method was used to investigate interleukin (IL)-23, IL-17, IL-4, IL-10, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, and interferon (IFN)-γ gene expression. Mann-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used for statistical analysis.

Results: Baseline TCD4+ mRNA levels of IL-23 (P = 0.03) and TGF-β (P = 0.01) were different between healthy and infertile groups. However, IL-17, IL-4, IFN-γ, and IL-10 were expressed similarly regardless of fertility status. Comparing mRNA expression before and after SP exposure, our results have shown that relative expression of IL-23 significantly increased in successful (P = 0.04) and unsuccessful IVF groups (P = 0.01), whereas IL-10 expression increased only in the IVF failure group (P = 0.01).

Conclusion: SP can make a positive effect on IVF outcome through alteration in CD4 + T-cell-related cytokines expression, especially IL-10 and IL-23.

Keywords: CD4-positive T-lymphocytes; fertilization in vitro; infertility; real-time polymerase chain reaction; seminal plasma.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Purity of magnetic-activated cell sorting isolated T-cell. (a) CD3+CD4+ T-cell before and (b) after magnetic-activated cell sorting isolation
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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