Association of Soluble HLA-G Plasma Level and HLA-G Genetic Polymorphism With Pregnancy Outcome of Patients Undergoing in vitro Fertilization Embryo Transfer

Infertility is currently a growing problem observed around the world and is estimated to affect between 8 and 12% of reproductive-aged couples worldwide. Artificial reproductive techniques are the last chance for couples seeking their own child. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G expression has been suggested as an immunomodulatory molecule that influences pregnancy outcome. The HLA-G gene encodes either membrane-bound or/and soluble proteins. The aim of this study was the evaluation of the role of soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) and its gene polymorphism in successful implantation after in vitro fertilization embryo transfers (IVF-ETs) in different clinical protocols. We tested the HLA-G polymorphism in three positions: rs1632947: c.-964G>A; rs1233334: c.-725G>C/T in promoter region; rs371194629: c.*65_*66insATTTGTTCATGCCT in 3′ untranslated region of exon 8, in 389 patients who underwent IVF-ETs and 320 women with healthy children born after natural conception. Among the patient group, 239 women were with recurrent implantation failure and 117 women had an ongoing pregnancy or a child born after IVF-ET. We found that certain rs1632947-rs1233334-rs371194629 HLA-G haplotypes and diplotypes were associated with infertility, while others were protective. The lowest secretors of sHLA-G were G-C-ins haplotype carriers (37.21 IU/ml), while the highest -G-C-del carriers (73.80 IU/ml). Other haplotype carriers were intermediate secretors. In our study, regardless of possessed haplotype ...
Source: Frontiers in Immunology - Category: Allergy & Immunology Source Type: research