Relationship between ovarian stimulation regimen and cytokine concentration in follicular fluid and their effect on fertilization and pregnancy outcome of patients undergoing ICSI program

PROBLEM: The aims of this study were to evaluate the presence of insulin-li ke growth factor (IGF)-I, pIatelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and egider mal growth factor (EGF) in pre-ovulatory follicular fluid (FF) in patients undergoing ovarian hyperstimulation for intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection ( ICSI) treatment, to determine the differences between the concentrations of these cytokines in relation to ovarian stimulation regimens, and to find t he relationship between these parameters and estradiol 17-beta. progesteron e, and luteinizing hormone (LH) concentration in serum, as well as ICSI out come. METHOD: IGF-I and PDGF were measured in the FF of 85 patients. The IGF-I le vels were measured by radioimmunoassay, whereas the concentrations of PDGF and EGF were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique, using commercially available kits. RESULTS: IGF-I (0.42 +/- 0.09 ng/mL), PDGF (307.3 +/- 274.5 pg/mL), and EDF (8.88 +/- 6.4 pg/ml) were present in pre-ovulatory FF in patients undergoi ng ovarian hyperstimulation for ICSI treatment. The mean concentration of I GF-I in the foilicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) group was significantly high er (P = 0.036) than that found in the human menopausal gonadotrophin (hMG)/ FSH group, whereas no significant difference in the mean concentrations of PDGF (P=0.58) and EGF was shown between all investigated groups. CONCLUSION: Controlled ovarian stimulation regimens affect only IGF-I level s in FF and the cytokine concentrations of all investigated groups, in turn , showed no correlation either with steroid hormones in serum or ICSI outco me.