Possible cause of IVF failure in some women identified

IVF only has around a 25% success rate, largely due to the high rates of failure when embryos try to implant. Some women suffer from recurrent implantation failure, where the embryo is transferred but fails to attach to the endometrium - the mucus membrane of the uterine wall. This is a significant cause of the failure of IVF as most embryo losses occur at this early stage.

Women who repeatedly suffer this failure have been shown to have altered levels of microRNA in their endometrium, so the researchers at The University of Manchester's Institute of Human Development decided to experiment with varied levels of microRNA-145 and its target, the receptor for insulin-like growth factors (IGF1R).

They found that IGF1R has a previously unknown role to play in the attachment process and that when it is reduced there is a higher probability that the embryo won't attach.

Professor John Aplin, who led the study said: "When an embryo is ready for implantation, its replacement is carefully timed to coincide with the window of maximal receptivity in the uterus.

"This window is open for no more than four days. Our study suggests that the presence of IGF1R during this period is required for the embryo to stick to the uterus."

MicroRNA-145 has a role to play in this process as over-expression inhibits the growth of IGF1R. The lab research conducted by the team showed that varying this level had a direct effect on IGF1R.

Causes of IVF Failure

1. Egg Quality
2. Sperm Quality
3. The Stimulation Protocol
4. The HCG Injection
5. The Endometrium
6. The Embryo Transfer
7. The IVF Laboratory

After investing an enormous amount of time, emotion, and financial resources, a negative result can be devastating. The post-IVF meeting allows the physician and patient to review the cycle, answer questions, and hopefully, come up with a better treatment plan for the future. At IVFMD, we analyze the following factors to find the causes of IVF failure:
1. Egg Quality

The egg is the first and most important factor to be considered during the analysis for the causes of IVF failure. The egg provides the majority of the ingredients required for successful fertilization and embryo development. Once the sperm enters the egg, it triggers a series of biochemical reactions that lead to the formation of the male and female pronuclei, which then fuse to combine the the parents’ genetic material to create the embryo. The single cell embryo subsequently divides into daughter cells through a process regulated by the organelles that reside within the cytoplasm of the egg. As the cells divide, the chromosomes from the original cells migrate along special pathways (the mitotic spindles) into the daughter cells. With time, these migrating tracts can become defective resulting in abnormal separation of the chromosomes. The result is an embryo with an abnormal number of chromosomes that, depending on the severity of the error, may stop growing at an early stage in the lab or eventually ends as a biochemical pregnancy or first trimester miscarriage.