IL-17A concentration of seminal plasma and follicular fluid in infertile men and women with various clinical diagnoses.

Seminal plasma and follicular fluid (FF) cytokine analysis are valuable tools for diagnoses and validation of therapeutic approaches for improving the chance of conception. Despite the initial discovery over a decade ago, the IL-17 family has not received much attention in the case of infertility. In this study, we analyzed the level of IL-17A in seminal plasma, follicular fluid and blood serum of infertile patients with different clinical diagnoses by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The results showed that the level of IL-17A was higher in seminal plasma and blood serum of varicocele patients than the control group. The level of this cytokine was higher in follicular fluid of endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and tubal factor patients than the control group. A similar elevation in IL-17A level was observed in blood serum of these patients. Furthermore, there was a correlation between the numbers of meiosis I (MI) oocytes and the level of blood serum and follicular fluid IL-17A in PCOS patients. Our data suggest a putative role of IL-17A in mediating these conditions and may have possible applications in the development of more effective diagnostic tools and therapeutic treatments for human reproductive disorders.

Effect of human T-cell lymphotrophic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) in seropositive infertile women on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcome.

BACKGROUND: Human T-cell Lymphotrophic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) has infected more than 20 million people worldwide. Northeast of Iran, Mashhad, the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province, is endemic for HTLV-1 with a prevalence of 3% among general population. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the ICSI outcome in our program for (HTLV-1) serodiscordant couples (SDCs) with the female infected in comparison with control group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was performed between 2007 and 2011 in Novin Infertility Treatment Center (Mashhad, Iran). We examined 32 ICSI cycles of HTLV-1 infected women in comparison with an age matched control group (n=62). ICSI outcome was compared regarding fertilization rate (FR), embryo quality parameters, implantation rate (IR), clinical pregnancy rate (PR), and abortion rate (AR). RESULTS: Fertilization (p=0.15), implantation (p=0.33), and pregnancy rate (p=0.12) were similar between the groups. No difference was found regarding the number of transferred embryos (on day 2 or 3) and cryopreserved embryos, multiple pregnancies, or abortion rates between the groups. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the embryo quality and ICSI outcome are not affected by HTLV-1 infection in serodiscordant couples. The major finding of this study is that the outcome of ICSI in HIV-I-infected patients and seronegative controls is similar.