Comparison of endometrial Igf2 ve H19 gene expressions in fertile groups and patients with implantational failure succeeding IVF treatment

The complex molecular relationship between the endometrium and blastocyst still remains unclear. Due to this, failure in implantation during IVF cycles pose a major limitation to this procedure. The role of imprinting genes in the implantation process have been recently investigated. Among these are the genes IGF2 and H19. IGF2 acts as a growth factor, while H19 seems to function as a tumor supressor gene. This study aims to both measure the levels of IGF2 and H19 in patients with supposed implantational defects following IVF treatment, and to evaluate their possible roles and importance in implantation. The study included 15 infertile patients and 16 fertile women. Total RNA and DNA isolation were performed from all endometrial samples. Quantitative mRNA assays of IGF2 and H19 were then assessed using Real Time PCR. When both groups were compared IGF2 mRNA levels were lower in the infertile group, although this difference was not statistically significant. However the H19 mRNA levels were significantly lower in the infertile group. Variation of allellic expression was also evaluated and both genes were found to possess a mono allelic expression pattern. Our results favour the view that H19 gene expression is decreased in the infertile group, and that this maybe one of the molecular factors behind implantational defects.