Are cytokines and growth factors responsible for the detrimental effects of hydrosalpingeal fluid on pregnancy rates after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer?

Objective: To characterize the secretion of cytokines and growth factors in hydrosalpingeal fluid. Design: Retrospective analysis. Setting: Hospital-based infertility practice. Patient(s): Ten infertile women who underwent laparoscopic aspiration of their hydrosalpingeal fluid before salpingectomy or neosalpingostomy. Intervention(s): Samples were cryopreserved, then thawed and centrifuged to remove cellular debris. Main Outcome Measure(s): The supernatants were analyzed for the presence of human interferon-gamma, epidermal growth factor, transforming growth factor-beta 2, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha by quantitative enzyme immunoassay kits. Result(s): Interferon-gamma and transforming growth factor-beta 2 were not detected in any of the hydrosalpingeal fluid samples. EpidermaI growth factor was present in 5 of 10 hydrosalpingeal fluid samples, with a mean (+/-SE) concentration of 26.7 +/- 11.4 pg/mL. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha was detected in 7 of 10 samples, with a mean (+/-SE) concentration of 6.2 +/- 3.6 pg/mL. Three of the 10 samples contained both tumor necrosis factor-alpha and epidermal growth factor. Conclusion(s): For the first time, we described the absence of interferon-gamma and transforming growth factor-beta 2, and the presence of epidermal growth factor and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in human hydrosalpingeal fluid. Because the fundamental role of the human fallopian tube is secretory in nature, the alteration in substances secreted from the tubal epithelium that reflux into the uterine cavity may explain the deleterious effects that hydrosalpingeal fluid has on pregnancy rates after IVF-ET. (C) 1999 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.