Original Article Leukaemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) Gene Mutations in Women Diagnosed with Unexplained Infertility and Endometriosis Have a Negative Impact on the IVF Outcome A Pilot Study

Abstract. The frequency of functionally relevant mu-tations of the leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) gene in infertile women is significantly enhanced in com-parison with fertile controls. The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate the impact of LIF gene mutations on the outcome of the treat-ment in women with various causes of infertility. Fif-teen infertile women with the G to A transition at position 3400 leading to the valine to methionine ex-change at codon 64 were analysed. Group A was made up of women with diagnoses that are frequent-ly accompanied by changes in humoral as well as cell-mediated immunity – idiopathic infertility and endometriosis (N = 7). Group B consisted of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), andrologi-