Evaluating the Serum Levels of Inflammatory Cytokines in Women with Various Causes of Infertility during Controlled Ovarian Stimulation Cycles

Concentration of inflammatory cytokines in serum levels and their role in the success of reproductive cycles with female infertility factors is unknown, so the aim of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of inflammatory cytokines in women with different causes of female infertility during controlled ovarian stimulation cycles.

In this case-control study, 25 infertile women with female infertility or unknown causes (case group) and 24 infertile women with male infertility causes (control group) participated in controlled ovarian stimulation cycles. 5 cc of blood was taken from them on the day of ovulation and after serum isolation, serum IL6 and TNFα levels were measured by ELISA.

In this study, there was no significant difference in TNFα and IL6 levels between case and control groups (P> 0.05). There was also no significant difference in TNFα levels in terms of causes of infertility (P> 0.05). However, there was a significant difference in IL6 level in terms of various causes of infertility (P = 0.02). There was a significant difference between polycystic ovarian as well as unknown group and male factor group considering serum levels of interleukin-6 (P = 0.008, P = 0.02, respectively). Furthermore, the highest level of IL6 (28.3 ±20.36) belonged to the infertility group with unknown cause and a significant relationship was found between IL6 level and the number of oocytes and embryos (P <0.01).

Higher serum IL6 levels in the infertility group with unknown cause could be considered as a factor in the pathogenesis of infertility in the patients with unknown causes and a parameter affecting the number of oocytes and embryos in this group. However, studies with a larger target population are needed to explain this potential indicator.