Human endometrial stromal cells improve embryo quality by enhancing the expression of insulin-like growth factors and their receptors in cocultured human preimplantation embryos. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the mechanism by which human endometrial stromal cells improve embryo quality in coculture. DESIGN: Randomized study. SETTING: Academic research center. PATIENT(S): Patients undergoing IVF-ET. INTERVENTION(S): Donated human embryos were cultured randomly either alone (group A) or with human endometrial stromal cells (group B), and the embryonic expression of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and their receptors was detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction after culture. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The embryo frequency distribution of groups A and B before and after culture and the embryonic transcripts of the IGF family genes of the two study groups after culture were compared. RESULT(S): The embryo frequency distribution of the day 3 embryonic stages in groups A and B was not different. However, after culture, a statistically significant difference in blastocyst formation was observed between groups A and B. A significant increase in the expression of IGF-1, IGF-2, the IGF-1 receptor, and the insulin-receptor also was noted. Among the embryos that reached the blastocyst stage, the expression of IGF-1 and the IGF-1 receptor also was significantly different in the two study groups. CONCLUSION(S): Human endometrial stromal cells enhanced the expression of IGFs and their receptors in cocultured human embryos, which may be essential for improving embryo quality.

publication date

  • February 1, 1999

Research

keywords

  • Blastocyst
  • Endometrium
  • Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins
  • Insulin-Like Growth Factor I
  • Insulin-Like Growth Factor II

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 0032959599

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1016/s0015-0282(98)00451-8

PubMed ID

  • 9988412

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 71

issue

  • 2