Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jul 22;101(29):e29624.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000029624.

IL-6 of follicular fluid and outcome of in vitro fertilization

Aleksandra Z Stojanovic Gavrilovic  1   2 , Jelena M Cekovic  1 , Aida Z Parandilovic  1 , Aleksandar B Nikolov  1 , Predrag S Sazdanovic  1   3 , Aleksandra M Velickovic  4   5 , Marija V Andjelkovic  4   5 , Marija P Sorak  1   6
Affiliations

IL-6 of follicular fluid and outcome of in vitro fertilization

Aleksandra Z Stojanovic Gavrilovic et al. Medicine (Baltimore). .

Abstract

The quality of an oocyte is influenced by its microenvironment, which includes cumulus cells and follicular fluid, as well as cells of the immune system and their products. The ovarian interleukins, which are secreted by the granulosa cells and other immune cells within the ovaries and follicles, regulate various functions between the cells. IL-6 is a cytokine that is present in the follicular fluid and may affect the quality of oocytes. There are some inconsistencies in the literature regarding the concentration of interleukin 6 in the follicular fluid. The main objective of this study was to examine whether the concentration of interleukin 6 in the follicular fluid affects the outcome of IVF. This study involved 83 patients who underwent IVF. Follicular fluid was used as the biological material for the analysis. Examination of the obtained follicular fluid and collection of oocytes under a stereomicroscope was performed in the embryological laboratory. The concentration of IL-6 in the follicular fluid was analyzed. IVF and ICSI methods were used as the fertilization methods. Pregnancy was confirmed by the positive serum β-hCG level. The software package SPSS 20 was used for statistical data processing. Analysis of the follicular fluid samples showed a correlation between the concentration of IL-6 in the follicular fluid and the outcome of IVF. The concentration of IL-6 in the follicular fluid was higher in patients with confirmed pregnancy (9.55 ± 7.47 ng/ml). Based on our results, we conclude that the concentration of IL-6 affects the outcome of IVF. If the range of IL-6 concentration is between 3,67 ng/ml and 10 ng/ml, we can expect good IVF outcome with vital pregnancy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Comparison between clinical characteristics and years.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Comparison between nonpregnancy and pregnancy groups for clinical characteristics.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Comparison between years and clinical pregnancy.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
ROC analysis for IL-6 values in follicular fluid as a potential marker of a positive outcome of the IVF process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Gunther V, Alkatout I, Fuhs C, et al. . The role of interleukin-18 in serum and follicular fluid during In vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Biomed Res Int. 2016;2016:6379850. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lu H, Huang Y, Xin H, et al. . The expression of cytokines IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-17A, and TGF-β1 in peripheral blood and follicular fluid of patients testing positive for anti-thyroid autoantibodies and its influence on in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer pregnancy outcomes. Gynecol Endocrinol. 2018;34:933–9. - PubMed
    1. Prince JR, Marissen LM, Scherjon SA, et al. . Is there an immune modulating role for follicular fluid in endometriosis? a narrative review. Reproduction. 2020;159:45–54. - PubMed
    1. Yogesh K, Saumya P, Syed A, et al. . Follicular Fluid IL-6 levels in prediction of successful pregnancy outcome in women undergoing IVF-ET cycles - a prospective Study. Int J Sci Res. 2016;5:1724–32.
    1. Jones ASK, Shikanov A. Follicle development as an orchestrated signaling network in a 3D organoid. J Biol Eng. 2019:132:2. - PMC - PubMed