BACKGROUND<\/p>\n
Soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) has been suggested as a non-invasive marker for embryo selection to improve pregnancy rates after assisted reproduction technique (ART). Our study aimed at the identification of parameters influencing the detection of sHLA-G in embryo cultures (ECs) and at the prognostic relevance of sHLA-G in a multi-centre study.<\/p>\n
METHODS<\/p>\n
In total 4212 EC from 2364 cycles were randomly collected from 29 German ART centres and analysed for sHLA-G by Luminex®<\/sup>-based technology.<\/p>\n RESULTS<\/p>\n Among test and culture conditions, only the cleavage stage of the embryo was identified as an independent factor for sHLA-G detection (P<\/I> < 0.001). Overall, sHLA-G was significantly associated with pregnancy after ART [P<\/I> < 0.001; odds ratio: 2.0 (95% CI: 1.7–2.4)], suggesting that sHLA-G testing might improve the pregnancy rate from 30 to 40%. Importantly, the sHLA-G status of embryos could be associated with pregnancy after single embryo transfer [P<\/I> = 0.002; odds ratio: 3.3 (95% CI: 1.5–6.8)] doubling the probability of pregnancy rate to 26% after sHLA-G testing. The patient's age, number of transferred embryos, morphological grading [EXP(B): 4.3 (95% CI: 2.1–8.9)] of embryos and sHLA-G status [EXP(B): 2.3 (95% CI: 1.8–3.1)] were independent predictors of pregnancy, with the latter two being most powerful.<\/p>\n CONCLUSIONS<\/p>\n This study provides significant evidence that the morphological scoring system is still the best strategy for the selection of embryos but that sHLA-G might be considered as a second parameter if a choice has to be made between embryos of morphologically equal quality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BACKGROUND Soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) has been suggested as a non-invasive marker for embryo selection to improve pregnancy rates after assisted reproduction technique (ART). Our study aimed at the identification of parameters influencing the detection of sHLA-G in embryo cultures (ECs) … Continue reading