The production of interleukin-1α immunoreactivity by human oviductal cells in a coculture system

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of interleukin-1α in human embryo culture medium with or without oviductal cell coculture and to correlate the interleukin-1α levels with pregnancy. Methods: Culture media from 32 in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer cycles were assayed for interleukin-1α by immunoassay technique. Human embryos were cultured in Earles' balanced salt solution supplemented with 15% preovulatory serum (sEBSS) in 16 of these cycles, while embryos in the rest of the cycles were cocultured with human oviductal cells in sEBSS. Results: Both sEBSS and spent sEBSS after embryo culture contained low or undetectable levels of interleukin-1α in the pregnant and nonpregnant cycles. On the other hand, oviductal cells significantly increased the amount of interleukin-1α immunoreactivity in the conventional culture medium or coculture medium (P < 0.001, Mann-Whitney rank sum test). The concentrations of interleukin-1α in the spent sEBSS after oviductal cell culture and after coculture with human embryos were 1.5 ± 1.0 and 1.3 ± 0.9 pg/ml, respectively. There was no difference in the interleukin-1α concentration between the pregnant and the nonpregnant coculture cycles. Conclusions: These data showed that human oviductal cells produced interleukin-1α immunoreactivity in a coculture system. However, this production could not be used as a marker for successful embryo implantation.