The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) +405 G/C polymorphism and its relationship with recurrent implantation failure in women in an IVF programme with ICSI

Successful embryo implantation depends on trophoblast proliferation, migration and, lastly, invasion of the endometrium (to anchor the trophoblast to the uterus). This invasion is mediated by locally produced soluble factors. Of these, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the best characterized regulator of angiogenesis. Here, we investigate the association between the VEGF + 405 C/G genotype and the recurrence of embryo implantation failure in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) program with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Forty women with recurrent implantation failure defined by absence of pregnancy after transfer of more than 10 embryos and 131 women control, with at least one live birth after the transfer of fewer than 10 embryos were included. Genomic DNA was analysed with an allele-specific polymerase chain reaction and a Chi-2 test was used to compare the respective VEGF + 405 C/G genotype frequencies in cases and controls. The frequency of the VEGF +405C/C genotype was higher in women with recurrent implantation failure after ICSI-embryo transfer than in controls (17.5 % and 5.3 %, respectively, p = 0.01). The VEGF +405 G/C polymorphism may influence embryo implantation and VEGF + 405 C/C genotype may predispose to recurrent implantation failure after ICSI-ET.