Differential expression of innate/adaptive immunity genes induced by endometrial scratching as a hopeful approach for implantation boosting in unexplained, repeated implantation failure: An RCT

BACKGROUND Endometrial scratching (ES) has been proposed as a potential treatment for implantation improvement in unexplained repeated implantation failure (uRIF) patients, however, little is known about its exact molecular mechanisms. OBJECTIVE This randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted on twenty uRIF patients to investigate the expression of innate and adaptive immune signaling genes after ES. METHODS Ten uRIF patients in the intervention (twice endometrial sampling in follicular and luteal phases) and 10 uRIF patients in the control group (only luteal phase sampling) were randomly enrolled. Gene expression analysis with innate and adaptive immune response PCR-array kit between intervention and control groups were performed. RESULTS Among innate immune-associated genes, a significant decrease was observed in the expression of APCS, CPR, CCL2, NLRP3, HLA-A, TLR3 and TLR4 in the intervention group. In adaptive immune-related genes, the expression level of CD80, CD86, CXCR3, IFNγ, IFNα1, IFNβ, MBL2, CCR6, CCR8 and IL17A were decreased and CSF2, GATA3, and IL4 increased significantly in the intervention group (P < 0.05). Of 14 uRIF patients, five live birth (35.71 %) was achieved. CONCLUSION ES in uRIF patients may exert positive effects on the endometrial preparation which increases its receptivity for embryo implantation by modulating the expression of an array of immune signaling pathway genes.