Microbiome and miRNA Biomarkers to Predict IVF Outcome
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Microbiome and miRNA Biomarkers to Predict IVF Outcome
IRAS ID
314105
Contact name
Phillip Bennett
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
IVF or in vitro fertilisation is a technique used to help women achieve a pregnancy. It involves collecting eggs which are then mixed with sperm in the laboratory to fertilise the egg. The fertilised egg is then placed into the womb where if successful it will develop into a pregnancy. Our previous work has suggested that the bacteria present in the vagina at the time of IVF may affect the success of the procedure. We have also found that there is a chemical in the blood called a micro RNA which may also help to predict whether IVS is successful or not. In this study we will take swabs and blood samples from women having IVF at the time of a collection and at the time of embryo transfer to to determine whether these two factors do you play an important role.
Summary of Results
This study looked at whether bacteria in the vagina (the vaginal microbiome) and certain immune markers could help predict whether IVF treatment would be successful.
We included 286 women undergoing IVF treatment, either with fresh or frozen embryo transfer. On the day of embryo transfer, vaginal samples were collected to study the types of bacteria present, and fluid samples were analysed to measure immune markers.
We found that the types of vaginal bacteria were similar across women and were not linked to whether a pregnancy occurred or whether it resulted in a live birth or miscarriage. The most common bacterial group was one typically considered healthy, but this did not appear to influence IVF outcomes.
We also measured several immune markers to see if they differed between women who became pregnant and those who did not, or between those who had a live birth and those who experienced miscarriage. Most immune markers showed no meaningful differences between groups. One marker (IGFBP-1) was higher in women who had a live birth, but overall, immune markers were not strong predictors of outcomes.
We then combined both the microbiome and immune data to test whether together they could better predict IVF success. However, this combined approach also did not improve prediction. Statistical analysis showed that these measures performed no better than chance in predicting pregnancy outcomes.
Overall, our findings suggest that testing the vaginal microbiome or local immune environment on the day of embryo transfer is unlikely to help predict whether IVF treatment will be successful. These results indicate that such tests may not be useful for guiding treatment decisions in IVF at this stage.
This research helps improve our understanding of factors influencing IVF success and suggests that other biological or clinical factors are likely to be more important in predicting outcomes.REC name
London - Dulwich Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0704
Date of REC Opinion
5 Dec 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion