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The effects of superovulation with gonadotropins on autoantibody levels in patients undergoing assisted reproductive cycles

  • Gynecologic Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the effect of controlled ovarian stimulation (COH) with gonadotropins on the serum levels of autoantibodies in the women who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles and to compare basal levels of these autoantibodies between groups according to history of COH.

Methods

This prospective cohort study was performed from October 2014 to March 2016 in the Royan Institute. The volunteered infertile women with regard to the inclusion criteria, who underwent IVF/ICSI cycles, were recruited. The COH was performed according to standard long GnRH agonist protocol. The mean levels of the autoantibodies including anti-nuclear, anti-smooth muscle, anti-ovarian, anti-mitochondrial, anti β2-glycoprotein I, anti-parietal cell and anti-follicle-stimulating hormone antibodies were measured at three time points: on the 3–5 days of the menstrual cycle, 1 week after starting of COH and the ovum pick-up (OPU) day.

Results

Of all participants (n = 189), 73 women had history of COH (group B) and 116 women did not have such history (group A). The analysis indicated that the autoantibodies changes during COH were similar in both groups. COH has no significant impact on the level of autoantibodies during the stimulation cycle. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the serum levels of anti-smooth muscle antibody on OPU day was the positive predictive factors for live birth following ART cycles in the studied population.

Conclusion

No significant effect of COH on the studied autoantibodies by the time of OPU was found but further studies are required to interpret these results.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the participants and co-workers in Royan Institute for their assistance in this study.

Funding

No financial support has been granted.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology and Female Infertility, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Number 12, East Hafez Avenue, BaniHashem Street, Resalat Highway, Tehran, Iran

    Mahnaz Ashrafi, Elham Amirchaghmaghi & Arezoo Arabipoor

  2. Shahid Akbar Abadi Clinical Research Unit, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mahnaz Ashrafi

  3. Department of Regenerative Biomedicine, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

    Elham Amirchaghmaghi

  4. Department of Epidemiology and Reproductive Health, Reproductive Epidemiology Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

    Samira Vesali

  5. Department of Andrology, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

    Reza Salman-Yazdi

Authors
  1. Mahnaz Ashrafi
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  2. Elham Amirchaghmaghi
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  3. Arezoo Arabipoor
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  4. Samira Vesali
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  5. Reza Salman-Yazdi
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Contributions

MA (M.D): designing the research, project development, manuscript writing/editing and approve for publication. EA (M.D, Ph.D.): design, revising manuscript and approve for publication. AA (M.Sc): project development, patient selection writing and revising manuscript and approve for publication. SV (M.Sc): data analysis and revising manuscript and approve for publication. RS-Y (DCLS): data collection, revising manuscript and approve for publication.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arezoo Arabipoor.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Author Mahnaz Ashrafi declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Arezoo Arabipoor declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Elham Amirchaghmaghi declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Smira Vesali declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Reza Salman-Yazdi declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards committee of Royan Institute and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Ethics approval code (EC/09/1060).

Informed consent

Informed written consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Ashrafi, M., Amirchaghmaghi, E., Arabipoor, A. et al. The effects of superovulation with gonadotropins on autoantibody levels in patients undergoing assisted reproductive cycles. Arch Gynecol Obstet 298, 183–189 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-018-4775-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-018-4775-8

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