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

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