Evaluation of leptin, interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α and vascular endothelial growth factor in serum and follicular fluids of women undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation as prognostic markers of ICSI outcome

Background: Cytokines play an important but controversial role during ovarian folliculogenesis for the development of mature and fertilizable oocytes. In this study, leptin, interleukin-1beta (IL1beta), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in serum and follicular fluids (FF) of women undergoing ovarian hyperstimulation were evaluated as prognostic markers of the outcome of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. Materials and Methods: Ninety-five ICSI cycles were included in the study. The cytokines were measured in serum and FF samples with enzyme immunoassay methods. Results: The cytokine concentrations in serum were not significantly correlated with the cytokine concentrations in FFs. Serum IL1beta was inversely-correlated with the number of retrieved oocytes. Serum TNFalpha was negatively-correlated with fertilization rate. In FFs, TNFalpha was positively-correlated with leptin. Leptin and VEGF in FFs were negatively-associated with pregnancy outcome. Conclusion: Leptin and VEGF concentrations in FFs may serve as prognostic markers of success after ovarian hyperstimulation and ICSI.