Serum and follicular fluid monocyte chemotactic protein-1 levels are elevated in obese women and are associated with poorer clinical pregnancy rate after in vitro fertilization: a pilot study.

Objective: To determine whether monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), a proinflammatory chemokine important in ovulation, is abnormally elevated in obese women undergoing IVF and whether serum and follicular fluid (FF) levels of MCP-1 are associated with IVF outcome.

Design: Prospective pilot study.

Setting: Academic center.

Patient(s): Women undergoing IVF.

Intervention(s): Serum and FF were collected from women undergoing IVF.

Main Outcome Measure(s): Correlation between MCP-1 and other inflammatory markers with adiposity and pregnancy outcome after IVF.

Result(s): Obese women had significantly higher serum and FF MCP-1 levels compared with overweight and normal weight women. Serum MCP-1, granulocyte colony stimulating factor, catalase, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were positively correlated with body mass index (BMI). After adjusting for age and baseline FSH, these correlations remained significant for serum MCP-1, granulocyte colony stimulating factor, and CRP. In the FF, only MCP-1 was positively correlated with BMI. Women who became pregnant had significantly lower serum MCP-1 and CRP levels compared with those who did not become pregnant; this difference was more pronounced among women with diminished ovarian reserve. Receiver operating characteristic curve demonstrated that serum MCP-1 levels >373.0 pg/mL in all women and >362.6pg/mL in women with diminished ovarian reserve predicted failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy.

Conclusion(s): Elevations in serum and FF MCP-1 levels are positively correlated with adiposity and negatively correlated with pregnancy rates (PRs) in women undergoing IVF.