Serum interferon-gamma (IFN- γ) and expression profile of IFN- γ provide
diagnostic signatures of unexplained infertility in females with
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.
Abstract
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease.
Interferon-gamma (IFN- γ) is a crucial cytokine that plays a crucial
role and shows increased level in HT. Unexplained infertility (UEI) is a
condition in which no cause has been found to explain the failure of
conception. We aimed in this study to detect the frequency of HT
patients that suffer from UEI in a sample of Egyptian women. Also, to
assess the serum interferon-gamma (IFN- γ) level and expression levels
of IFN- γ gene in this group of patients to find out the possibility of
using them as diagnostic markers for UEI in patients with HT. This
cross-sectional study included 120 women with HT. We assessed fertility
in both groups in which female patients with UEI were detected. For all
patients, HT was diagnosed based on clinical and laboratory measures,
serum IFN- γ was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and
FN- γ mRNA expression was analyzed using real-time polymerase chain
reaction. Our results revealed that 37.5 % of studied Egyptian women
with HT had UEI. There was a significant positive correlation between
serum IFN- γ and IFN- γ gene expression with thyroid auto-antibodies as
well as TSH, while there was a negative correlation with FT3, FT4, and
AMH. Interestingly, among studied parameters, TSH and FT3 were the only
variables independently associated with serum IFN- γ while FT3 was only
variables independently associated with IFN- γ gene expression by linear
regression analysis.