Letters to the editor |
Origin of leukocytes and their profile in follicular aspirates
Department of Histology and Embryology, Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, 07070 Antalya, Turkey
E-mail: akkoyunlu{at}akdeniz.edu.tr
Sir,
In their recent paper, Smith et al. (2005)
concluded that firstly the presence of leukocytes within follicular aspirates was not directly related to the vessel damage during oocyte harvesting, and secondly, the increase in the relative proportions of monocytes/macrophages compared with polymorphonuclear (PMN) leukocytes observed in several follicular aspirates during their study was indicative of an increase in follicular maturation.
I agree that vessel damage during oocyte harvesting is not the primary source of leukocytes and erythrocytes in human follicular aspirates. Similarly, in our previous study (Akkoyunlu et al., 2004), we have observed different subpopulations of leukocytes and erythrocytes between cumulus mass as a consequence of theca rupture during ovulation in mice. Furthermore, after mating, increased amounts of leukocytes were present in pregnant mice, suggesting the uterine leukocytes’ infiltration to serve as an immunological barrier and for the phagocytosis of the remaining sperm after a successful fertilization in mice.
I have a criticism of the authors’ experimental design regarding the number of samples included in the determination of the relationship between leukocytes and erythrocytes in follicular aspirates: only 13 samples were analysed. The same criticism can be said for the analysis of leukocyte subtypes in a separate group of 14 samples. The results obtained would have been more convincing if all the 27 individual samples had been included in both phases of the experiment.
In addition, when the profiles of the leukocyte subtypes were identified, only CD45 antibody was used for the microscopic observation of follicular aspirates. Instead of just using CD45 (leukocyte common antigen) as a general marker of all the leukocytes, I suggest for a more accurate determination of subtypes, other antibodies such as CD4, CD8 and CD163 should be included in the quantification of the leukocytes.
The authors’ speculation about follicular maturation, preliminary or not, should be supported by other parameters such as the simultaneous determination of plasma estradiol levels and ultrasound measurement of the size of the follicles.
References
Akkoyunlu G, Korgun ET, Celik-Ozenci C, Seval Y, Demir R, Ustunel I. (2004) Distribution patterns of leucocyte subpopulations expressing different cell markers in the cumulus-oocyte complexes of pregnant and pseudopregnant mice. Reprod Fertil Dev 15:389–395.[CrossRef][Medline]
Smith MP, Flannery GR, Randle BJ, Jenkins JM, Holmes CH. (2005) Leukocyte origin and profile in follicular aspirates at oocyte retrieval. Hum Reprod 20:3526–3531.
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