Direct effect of macrophage migration inhibitory factor on sperm function: possible involvement in endometriosis-associated infertility

Cédric Carli, Carli C, Pierre Leclerc, Christine N Metz, Metz CN, Akoum A, Ali Akoum
Fertility and sterility · 2007 · vol. 88(4) , pp. 1240–1247 · doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.04.002 · PMID:17658526 · W2034695919
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 18 in-corpus citations
🔓 Open OA copy View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This paper investigates the direct impact of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) on sperm function, exploring its potential role in infertility associated with endometriosis.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) on sperm capacitation, a maturational process that occurs in the female reproductive tract and enables spermatozoa to become fully competent at fertilizing the oocyte.DesignIncubation of Percoll-washed spermatozoa with varying concentrations of human recombinant MIF or fetal cord serum (positive control).SettingHuman reproduction research laboratories.Intervention(s)Fresh semen samples obtained from healthy volunteers after a minimum of 2 days of sexual abstinence.Main outcome measure(s)Protein tyrosine phosphorylation by Western blotting, the acrosomal status upon binding to the Pisum sativum agglutinin conjugated to fluorescein isothiocyanate, and sperm motility by computer-assisted sperm analysis.ResultsMIF displayed a dose-dependent effect on the phosphotyrosine content of p105 and p81, the two major tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins associated with human sperm capacitation. A significant induction of tyrosine phosphorylation was seen at 2 ng/mL of MIF for both p105 and p81, but a trend for a down-regulation of the basal tyrosine phosphorylation level was noted at elevated concentrations (12-24 ng/mL). MIF pretreatment of spermatozoa resulted in a dose-dependent change in the acrosome reaction induced by the Ca(2+) ionophore A23187. After being increased at 1-4 ng/mL MIF with a statistically significant effect observed at 4 ng/mL, the acrosome reaction gradually decreased and fell below the control levels at higher concentrations. Furthermore, a significant decrease in the motility of spermatozoa was observed after exposure to an elevated concentration of MIF (12 ng/mL).Conclusion(s)The present data indicate that MIF may play a physiological role in sperm capacitation but may have deleterious effects on sperm function at abnormal pathophysiological levels, which suggests a role in endometriosis-associated infertility.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosisinfertility

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Infertility, Female Macrophage Migration-Inhibitory Factors Spermatozoa Sperm Capacitation Dose-Response Relationship, Drug Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Infertility, Female Infertility, Female Macrophage Migration-Inhibitory Factors Macrophage Migration-Inhibitory Factors Macrophage Migration-Inhibitory Factors Male Spermatozoa Sperm Capacitation

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (51)

Cited by (18)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-07-25T06:15:30.875455+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-04T00:00:01.174412+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:14:54.534439+00:00
unpaywall
last seen: 2026-06-21T16:06:39.831647+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK