ClinicalTrials.gg
Status unknownNCT03436758Updated Feb 19, 2018

Validation of Addition of Uterine Fluid to Human Embryo Culture Medium

An observational study in Infertility, sponsored by IVI Murcia. Status unknown at 1 site in Spain. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 39 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-02-19.

Sponsored by IVI Murcia · Observational

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified Feb 2018), so the status shown — last known as Recruiting — may be out of date.
Study type
Observational
Model
Case-only
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
27
Ages
18 Years to 39 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Infertility or infertility affects about 15% of couples of reproductive age. It is estimated that 80 million people around the world suffer from this problem. Assisted reproduction techniques (ART) use culture media (during in vitro fertilization or early embryo development) with protein sources that are very different from natural sources. This media could produce an added stress to the gametes and embryos that could cause epigenetic alterations and health effects during adult life.

Our working hypothesis is based on studies in animal models (pig and cow), in which it was observed that the culture media with reproductive fluids used as additives instead of conventional sources of proteins (such as serum albumin) , produce embryos with an epigenetic profile closer to that of embryos generated in the maternal oviduct. Moreover, with these fluids, blastocysts obtained have a greater number of cells and hatchability than those produced with serum albumin alone.

Therefore, the University of Murcia, with an extensive experience in this area, and the IVI Murcia (Valencian Infertility Institute) research team have come together to launch this research project in order to determine the advantages of the use of human reproductive fluids as additives in embryonic culture media. To do this, 2 specific objectives are proposed,:

  1. Creation of the first collection of human uterine fluid samples for Assisted Reproduction use.
  2. To evaluate the use of uterine fluid as a media supplement in the culture media for assisted reproduction techniques, by evaluating embryo quality cultured with autologous fluid from voluntary patients (autologous culture)

This achievement would allow us the development of protocols in the nearest ART physiological conditions which represent not only a technical challenge but a biomedical responsibility that must be addressed to prevent future diseases of the offspring.

Read the detailed description
  1. Creation of the first collection of human uterine fluid samples for Assisted Reproduction use. Female reproductive system will be collected at the Virgen de la Arrixaca University Clinical Hospital from surgical pieces of patients undergoing surgical procedures. IVI Murcia Clinics uterine fluids from oocyte donors will be collected. These fluids will be store in the Arrixaca Hospital Biobank for future researches.
  2. Validation of the addition of uterine fluid to human embryonic culture media:

Couples undergoing assited Reproduction Treatment in IVI Murcia will be asked for their inclusion in this study. Uterine fluid will be take 48 hours after peak of LH (luteinizing hormone), in natural cycle. Oocytes from these patients, will be divided into two groups: Half of the zygotes of each patient, control group, will be grown in the conditions usually used in the clinic, and the other half, experimental group, will add 1-5% of uterine fluid from the patient (v / v)

On day 3 and on day 5 of culture the quality of the embryos in both groups will be assessed according to the usual criteria of the clinic and the best quality and highest probability of implantation will be transferred, following the usual clinical practice. The samples of uterine fluid, after the initial processing in the IVI-Murcia clinic will be transferred to the Department of Physiology of the University of Murcia where they will be fractionated to perform a quality control according to the following specifications:

Uterine fluid pH 7.0-7.6 Osmolarity (mOsm / kg) 260-320 Endotoxin (EU / mL) \<0.15 Sterility No growth

Only samples that meet these criteria will continue to be part of the study

02

Conditions studied

  • Infertility

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Keywords

  • uterine fluids
  • Biobank
  • culture medium
03

In context

Infertility

2,085 studies on the registry are indexed under Infertility; 357 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 27 is below the median of 200 across 592 observational studies indexed under Infertility.

Browse Infertility studies →

Lead sponsor

IVI Murcia is the lead sponsor of 3 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 39 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

infertility couples

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Couples in icsi treatment

Woman:

between 17 and 30.Under controlled ovarian stimulation and at least 8 metaphase II oocytes collected

Man:

Sperm concentration higher than 5 million sperm / ml

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Woman:

Diagnosis of endometriosis Uterine pathology that compromises embryonic development Patients undergoing treatment for repeat abortion or implantation failures Abnormal karyotype Patients included in the Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (DPI) program

Male:

Men whit abnormal karyotype, High values of DNA fragmentation Abnormal FISH (Fluorescence in situ Hybridization) Sperm from epididymal aspirate or testicular

Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

Biopsy and archival tissue

A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.

Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.

05

Study design

Observational model
Case-only
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
27 participants (estimated)
Patient registry
No
Biospecimen retention
Samples without dna
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. embryo quality

    Number of embryo with A or B quality according to ASEBIR (Spanish association for the study of the biology of reproduction) criteria

    Time frame: embryo quality will be analyze on day 3 and 5 after fertilization

Secondary outcomes

  1. Pregnancy rate

    serum levels of chorionic gonadotropin Beta (Beta-hCG)

    Time frame: between 14-16 days after fertilization

  2. ongoing pregnancy

    ultrasonography

    Time frame: 16-18 week after fertilization

  3. implantation rate

    number of embryos implanted/number of embryos transferred x100

    Time frame: 24 days after fertilization

  4. pregnancy loss rate

    number of miscarriages/ number of ongoing pregnancy x100

    Time frame: 10 days after B-hCG evaluation at end of pregnancy

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Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • IVI Murcia
    Murcia, 30007, Spain
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Coy P, Jimenez-Movilla M, Garcia-Vazquez FA, Mondejar I, Grullon L, Romar R. Oocytes use the plasminogen-plasmin system to remove supernumerary spermatozoa. Hum Reprod. 2012 Jul;27(7):1985-93. doi: 10.1093/humrep/des146. Epub 2012 May 3. PubMed 22556378 ↗
  • Aviles M, Gutierrez-Adan A, Coy P. Oviductal secretions: will they be key factors for the future ARTs? Mol Hum Reprod. 2010 Dec;16(12):896-906. doi: 10.1093/molehr/gaq056. Epub 2010 Jun 28. PubMed 20584881 ↗
  • Belva F, Bonduelle M, Roelants M, Michielsen D, Van Steirteghem A, Verheyen G, Tournaye H. Semen quality of young adult ICSI offspring: the first results. Hum Reprod. 2016 Dec;31(12):2811-2820. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dew245. Epub 2016 Oct 5. PubMed 27707840 ↗
  • Chiu PC, Chung MK, Koistinen R, Koistinen H, Seppala M, Ho PC, Ng EH, Lee KF, Yeung WS. Cumulus oophorus-associated glycodelin-C displaces sperm-bound glycodelin-A and -F and stimulates spermatozoa-zona pellucida binding. J Biol Chem. 2007 Feb 23;282(8):5378-88. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M607482200. Epub 2006 Dec 27. PubMed 17192260 ↗
  • Coy P, Canovas S, Mondejar I, Saavedra MD, Romar R, Grullon L, Matas C, Aviles M. Oviduct-specific glycoprotein and heparin modulate sperm-zona pellucida interaction during fertilization and contribute to the control of polyspermy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Oct 14;105(41):15809-14. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0804422105. Epub 2008 Oct 6. PubMed 18838686 ↗
  • Coy P, Grullon L, Canovas S, Romar R, Matas C, Aviles M. Hardening of the zona pellucida of unfertilized eggs can reduce polyspermic fertilization in the pig and cow. Reproduction. 2008 Jan;135(1):19-27. doi: 10.1530/REP-07-0280. PubMed 18159080 ↗
  • Gabler C, Chapman DA, Killian GJ. Expression and presence of osteopontin and integrins in the bovine oviduct during the oestrous cycle. Reproduction. 2003 Dec;126(6):721-9. PubMed 14748691 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started Jan 2018 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Oct 2019, 21 months after the start.

Of 209 non-industry observational studies under Infertility, half reached primary completion within 39 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 15 and three quarters within 100. This study's planned 21 months is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 242 studies reached it within 39 months; a quarter within 16 and three quarters within 100.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Feb 12, 2018
First posted
Feb 19, 2018
StartActual
Jan 30, 2018
Primary completionEst.
Oct 30, 2019
CompletionEst.
Dec 31, 2019
Last update
Feb 19, 2018
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 19, 2018, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03436758
Lead sponsor
IVI Murcia
Collaborators
Universidad de Murcia
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Feb 19, 2018
Start date
Jan 30, 2018
Primary completion
Oct 30, 2019 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 31, 2019 (estimated)
Last update
Feb 19, 2018

Study contacts

Juan C Martinez-Soto, PhD
Contact
juancarlos.martinez@ivi.es
+34968200031 ext. 16523
Marta Mollá, BD
Contact
marta.molla@ivi.es
+34968200031 ext. 16519
Jose Landeras, MD
principal investigator · IVI-RMA

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is status unknown, as verified in Feb 2018. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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