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Interleukin 6 in follicular fluid reduces embryo fragmentation and improves the clinical pregnancy rate

  • Assisted Reproduction Technologies
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of interleukin 6 in embryo development in the in vitro fertilization cycles.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study. One hundred and three women undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer due to a tubal factor were included in the study. The follicular fluid IL-6 levels on oocyte retrieval day from each patient were determined by ELISA. The relationships between follicular fluid IL-6 levels and IVF cycle parameters were investigated.

Results

The levels of follicular fluid IL-6 were not affected by the use of drugs for superovulation or by estrogen. In addition, follicular fluid IL-6 levels did not affect the number of oocytes retrieved or the MII oocyte rate. High levels of follicular fluid IL-6 correlated with a significant increase in the rates of clinical pregnancy. Follicular fluid IL-6 levels did not affect the cell number or the blastomere symmetry of day 3 embryos, but it did significantly reduce the embryo fragmentation rate.

Conclusions

High levels of follicular fluid IL-6 improved the rates of clinical pregnancy and reduce embryo fragmentation.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Scientific Research Foundation of Yunnan Provincial Education Department (Item Number: 2019 J1256) and Construction Project of 135 Key Specialized Subjects in Kunming Medical University (Item Number: J1301819).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Reproduction Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Dianmian Road 374, Kunming, 650101, Yunnan Province, China

    Jie Yang, Xiaoling Yang, Hong Yang, Yang Bai, Hao Zha, Fangjie Jiang & Yushi Meng

Authors
  1. Jie Yang
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  2. Xiaoling Yang
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  3. Hong Yang
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  4. Yang Bai
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  5. Hao Zha
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  6. Fangjie Jiang
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  7. Yushi Meng
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Contributions

Conceptualization: [Yushi Meng]; Methodology: [Hong Yang], [Yang Bai], [Hao Zha]; Formal analysis and investigation: [Fangjie Jiang]; Writing - original draft preparation: [Jie Yang]; Writing - review and editing: [Xiaoling Yang].

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yushi Meng.

Ethics declarations

The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University and informed written consent was obtained from all patients.

Conflict of interest

The authors’ declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Institutional Review Board of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Yang, J., Yang, X., Yang, H. et al. Interleukin 6 in follicular fluid reduces embryo fragmentation and improves the clinical pregnancy rate. J Assist Reprod Genet 37, 1171–1176 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-020-01737-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-020-01737-2

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