IL-5 in follicular fluid as a negative predictor of the intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcome.

Purpose: To determine the prognostic value of intrafollicular concentrations of some cytokines from women undergoing ovarian stimulation in the outcome of intracytoplasmic sperm injection/embryo transfer (ICSI/ET) cycles.

Methods: A total of 80 patients were included in this study following ovarian stimulation and ICSI. Follicular fluids (FF) were collected at the day of oocyte retrieval. Ten cytokines including: tumor necrosis factor- alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, CXCL8/IL-8, IL-10, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) were measured using magnetic multiplex immunoassays.

Results: Only the concentration of IL-5, IL-4, and GM-CSF in FF were significantly different (p < 0.05) between ICSI cycles that resulted in pregnancy and those that failed. Elevated FF IL-5 levels were associated with poor oocyte quality, which decreases the chance of both biochemical and clinical pregnancy. Higher FF GM-CSF associated with decrease of mature oocytes, while higher FF IL-4 concentrations were linked to good ICSI outcome through increased fertilization rate.

Conclusions: The elevated intrafollicular concentrations of IL-5 seem to be a negative predictor to the pregnancy outcome in ICSI cycles.