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Expression of mRNA and protein of IL-18 and its receptor in human follicular granulosa cells

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Abstract

Purpose

There is no information available about the IL-18 receptor in ovarian follicles, so the present study attempts to demonstrate the expression of IL-18 and its receptor in human granulosa cells (GCs).

Methods

To evaluate the concentration of IL-18 in serum and follicular fluid (FF), we collected serum and FF from 102 women undergoing oocyte retrieval. Also, to detect expression of IL-18 and its receptor by luteinized GCs, these cells were pooled six times from a total of twenty individual patients with 5–16 follicles each. The IL-18 concentration was determined by ELISA and the expression of IL-18 and its receptor by immunocytochemistry and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

Results

Our results showed that the median IL-18 concentration in serum, 159.27 pg/ml (IQR 121.41–210.1), was significantly higher than in FF, 142.1 pg/ml (IQR 95.7–176.5), p < 0.001. Moreover, we found that IL-18 and its receptor are expressed by GCs.

Conclusion

The presence of IL-18 in FF and the expression of IL-18 and its receptor by GCs suggest an important role for this cytokine in ovarian function.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dawn Ruether for her editorial assistance, Parisa Ahani for graphical work and Kerstin Koch for her assistance in the laboratory experiments at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospitals Schleswig–Holstein, Campus Kiel, Germany.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Reproductive Biology, Faculty of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    A. Salmassi & M. Nouri

  2. Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Women’s Hospital, University Hospitals Schleswig-Holstein, Christian-Albrechts-University, Campus Kiel, Arnold-Heller Str. 3, House 24, 24105, Kiel, Germany

    A. Salmassi & A. G. Schmutzler

  3. Institute of Medical Informatics and Statistics, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    J. Hedderich

  4. Women’s Reproductive Health Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    A. Fattahi

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  1. A. Salmassi
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Correspondence to A. Salmassi.

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Under the stipulations of the Universitätsklinikum Schleswig–Holstein (UKSH), Kiel Institutional Review Board (IRB), approval did not obtain for a retrospective observational study.

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Patient written consent was obtained from all participants.

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Salmassi, A., Fattahi, A., Nouri, M. et al. Expression of mRNA and protein of IL-18 and its receptor in human follicular granulosa cells. J Endocrinol Invest 40, 447–454 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-016-0590-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-016-0590-x

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