ELEVATED OVARIAN FOLLICULAR-FLUID STEM-CELL FACTOR CONCENTRATIONS AREASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED PREGNANCY RATES IN IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION CIRCLES

Objective: To determine whether ovarian follicular fluid (FF) stem cel l factor concentrations are associated with successful IVF pregnancies , Design: Nested case-control design evaluation of stem cell factor le vels from the FF of oocytes fertilized and transferred after controlle d ovarian hyperstimulation. Setting: University-based ART program, Pat ient(s): Infertile women undergoing IVF in a university-based ART prog ram. Intervention(s): Fifty-seven FF samples from a cohort of patients (n = 13) with tubal factor and unexplained infertility were stared at -80 degrees C and subsequently evaluated for stem cell factor concent ration, Patients with endometriosis, polycystic ovary disease, and mal e factor infertility were excluded. Stem cell factor concentrations we re measured using a commercially available ELISA kit according to the manufacturer's specifications. The groups were analyzed using a one-wa y analysis of variance, and significance was determined using the chi( 2) analysis of contingency table, the unpaired t-test. or the Mann-Whi tney rank-sum test. Main Outcome Measure(s): FF stem cell factor conce ntration, pregnancy. Result(s): Stem cell factor concentrations were s ignificantly higher in the FF of the patients who achieved successful pregnancies than in those who did not (641.7 +/- 75.2 pg/mL versus 475 .5 +/- 50.58 pg/mL). Conclusion(s): Elevated FF stem cell factor conce ntrations are associated with an increased likelihood of IVF success. Therefore, stem cell factor may play a role in human follicular and oo cyte development. and increasing infrafollicular stem cell factor conc entrations may improve pregnancy rates after oocyte retrieval, fertili zation, and ET. (C) 1998 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine .