HLA class II alleles in couples with failed ART attempts

Aim: to study immunogenetic patterns of couples who have appealed to assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs). Patients and Methods: HLA class II typing was performed in 345 couples with different outcomes of ARTs, i.e., ineffective in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intrauterine insemination (IUI), and missed miscarriage after IVF. Inclusion criteria were primary or secondary ART implantation failures. HLA class II typing was performed by real-time PCR. In addition, HLA genotypes were investigated in women examined for female infertility (ICD-10 cone N97) and men examined for urogenital infections plus spermogram, MAR test, and assessment of AZF deletions. All participants were divided into five groups of pairs based on obstetric and gynecologic history, i.e., one failed IVF attempt (n=100), two failed IVF attempts (n=64), three or more failed IVF attempts (n=87), ineffective IUI (n=48), and missed miscarriage after IVF (n=10). The comparision group included 36 couples with one or more childbirths after ARTs. Results: ART efficacy depends on the HLA genotypes of couples. In women, DQA1*01:02 is associated with IVF failure. In men, DQA1*01:01 is associated with failed ART, and DQA1*05:01 is associated with childbirth after ARTs. In men, DRB1*11 favors effective IUI. DQB1*03:03 in women and DRB1*01, DQA1*01:01, and DQB1*05:01 in men predispose to missed miscarriages after IVF and IUI. In men, DQB1*02:01 contributes to childbirths after ARTs. The outcomes of IVF and IUI are not related to husband-wife matching for HLA class II alleles. Conclusion: HLA class II typing is crucial for diagnosing infertility when using assisted reproductive technologies. KEYWORDS: infertility, in vitro fertilization, alleles, genes, HLA. FOR CITATION: Zagarskikh A.N., Butina E.V., Zaytseva G.A. HLA class II alleles in couples with failed ART attempts. Russian Journal of Woman and Child Health. 2022;5(1):5–10 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2618-8430-2022-5-1-5-10.