High granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cell levels in the peripheral blood predict a better IVF treatment outcome

Objective: Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) have been described as important immunosuppressive cells for maternal immune tolerance. The aim of this study was to detect whether there was any association between the peripheral blood MDSCs level and in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment outcomes. Methods: This prospective observational study randomly recruited 85 women who underwent IVF treatment from May 2016 to June 2016. The levels of peripheral blood granulocytic MDSC (G-MDSC), monocytic MDSC (M-MDSC) and their relations to IVF treatment outcomes were analyzed. Results: The circulating G-MDSC level was significantly increased in the clinical pregnant group when compared to that in the nonclinical pregnant group (p = .014), while M-MDSC had no significant difference. The G-MDSC level was an independent predictive factor for clinical pregnancy with odds ratios 12.7 (95% CI: 1.53-105.4, p = .018) when using multiple logistic regression analysis. A receiver operating characteristic analysis (area under curve = 0.634) found the clinical pregnancy rate in women with G-MDSC >2.38% was higher than that in women below this level (96 versus 66.7%, p = .004). The high G-MDSC level in the peripheral blood was associated with clinical pregnancy, with a sensitivity of 37.5%, specificity of 95.2%. Conclusion: High circulating G-MDSC level was associated with elevated clinical pregnancy rate. G-MDSC might be a new therapeutic target for better IVF treatment outcome.