Autoimmune antiovarian antibodies and their impact on the success of an IVF/ET program

In previous papers, we referred to studies of the influence of antiovarian autoantibodies on menstrual cycle disorders in adolescent girls. We examined autoantibodies against ooplasma, zona pellucida, membrana granulosa, theca folliculi interna, and lutein cells. In infertile women in the IVF/ET program, we studied the positivity of antiovarian antibodies and cytokines, namely, TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta, in follicular fluid correlated with the following subgroups, characterized by the outcome of in vitro fertilization, as follows: G, pregnant; F, fertilized; N, nonfertilized; and O, no oocyte gained. The presence of autoantibodies corresponds to the success or failure of the IVF/ET program. Our results support the hypothesis that antiovarian autoantibodies play an important role in both the endocrine and the reproductive function of the human ovary and that it can influence them negatively.