The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between sperm DNA fragmentation and live-birth rates after IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The alkaline Comet assay was employed to measure sperm DNA fragmentation in native semen and in spermatozoa following density-gradient centrifugation in semen samples from 203 couples
undergoing IVF and 136 couples undergoing ICSI. Men were divided into groups according to sperm DNA damage. Following IVF, couples with <25% sperm DNA fragmentation had a live-birth rate of 33%; in contrast, couples with >50% sperm DNA fragmentation U0126 clinical trial had a much lower live-birth rate of 13%. Following ICSI, no significant differences in sperm DNA damage were found between any groups of patients. Sperm DNA damage
was also associated with low live-birth rates following IVF in both men and couples with idiopathic infertility: 39% of couples and 41% of men with idiopathic infertility have high sperm DNA damage. Sperm DNA damage assessed by the Comet assay has a close inverse relationship with live-birth rates after IVF. RBMOnline (C) 2012, Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Embryo-secreted preimplantation factor (PIF) is necessary for, and its concentration correlates with, embryo development in humans by promoting implantation and trophoblast invasion. Synthetic PIF (sPIF) modulates systemic immunity and is effective in autoimmune disease models. sPIF binds monocytes and activated T and MK-8776 B cells, leading to immune tolerance without suppression. This study examined the effect of sPIF on natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity in 107 consecutive nonselected, nonpregnant patients with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) and 26 infertile IVF patients (controls). The effects of sPIF, intravenous gamma immunoglobulin (Ig), Intralipid and scrambled PIF (PIFscr; negative control) on NK cell cytotoxicity to peripheral-blood cells were
compared by flow cytometry of labelled-K562 cell cytolysis. The effects of sPIF and PIFscr on whole-blood NKCD69+ expression were also compared. In patients with RPL, sPIF inhibited selleck NK cell cytotoxicity at doses of 2.5 and 25 ng/ml (37% and 42%) compared with PIFscr (18%; P < 0.001), regardless of the proportion of peripheral-blood NKCD56+ cells to lymphocytes. Pre-incubation of blood from infertile patients with sPIF for 24 h decreased NKCD69+ expression versus incubatino with PIFscr (P < 0.05). In conclusion, sPIF inhibits NK cell cytotoxicity by reducing NKCD69 expression, suggesting a significant role in RPL patients. RBMOnline (C) 2012, Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.