Intracellular cytokine production in peripheral blood lymphocytes: a comparison of values in infertile and fertile women.

摘要

PROBLEM: To analyze the relation of the fertility and pregnancy of women of childbearing age to the intracellular (IC) production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), and interleukins 2 and 4 (IL-2 and IL-4). METHOD OF STUDY: Intracellular cytokine production in peripheral blood CD3(+) CD4(+) lymphocytes was analyzed by flow cytometry in 185 women being treated for infertility and 50 fertile women of childbearing age. RESULTS: Infertile women have a significantly higher IC production of TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-2, and IL-4 and higher ratios of TNF-alpha/IL-2, TNF-alpha/IL-4, and TNF-alpha/IFN-gamma compared to the fertile women. CONCLUSION: Cytokines produced by Th lymphocytes are important in orchestrating the immune response during conception, and Th-cell dysregulation could be a reason for infertility.