Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41516408›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of molecular sciences2026

Male Stress Is Associated with Ovarian and Endometrial Responses in ICSI Cycles: Is Seminal Plasma the Linchpin?

Marina Nikolaeva, Alla Arefieva, Alina Babayan, Andrey Romanov, Nataliya Makarova, Liubov Krechetova, Elena Kalinina, Gennady Sukhikh

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of molecular sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Marina NikolaevaNational Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology Named After Academician V.I. Kulakov, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 117997 Moscow, Russia.ORCID 0000-0002-1251-6755
Alla ArefievaNational Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology Named After Academician V.I. Kulakov, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 117997 Moscow, Russia.ORCID 0000-0001-9046-3196
Alina BabayanNational Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology Named After Academician V.I. Kulakov, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 117997 Moscow, Russia.ORCID 0000-0003-0963-6382
Andrey RomanovNational Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology Named After Academician V.I. Kulakov, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 117997 Moscow, Russia.ORCID 0000-0003-1821-8684
Nataliya MakarovaNational Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology Named After Academician V.I. Kulakov, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
Liubov KrechetovaNational Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology Named After Academician V.I. Kulakov, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 117997 Moscow, Russia.ORCID 0000-0001-5023-3476
Elena KalininaNational Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology Named After Academician V.I. Kulakov, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 117997 Moscow, Russia.ORCID 0000-0002-8922-2878
Gennady SukhikhNational Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology Named After Academician V.I. Kulakov, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 117997 Moscow, Russia.ORCID 0000-0002-7712-1260

Funding

Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation 124020500056-7
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Evidence indicates that seminal plasma (SP) has pregnancy-favorable biological effects, but there is no definitive proof that exposure to SP increases pregnancy rates in assisted reproductive techniques. We previously showed that this discrepancy may be due to male stress altering SP composition. This study investigated the association between male stress biomarkers in saliva, serum and SP and key determinants of female fertility in women exposed to their partner's SP during the intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycle. The prospective pilot study included couples with tubal infertility who had unprotected intercourse during the ICSI cycle, supplemented by intravaginal SP injection on the oocyte retrieval day. Salivary cortisol and seminal noradrenaline were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to assess the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and sympathetic nervous systems. Seminal interleukin-18 was measured using LegendPlex™ technology. Cluster analysis of male stress biomarkers identified two neuroendocrine-immune (NEI) phenotypes, characterized by signs of acute (phenotype-1) and chronic (phenotype-2) stress. Women with NEI phenotype-2 partners had fewer collected, mature, and fertilized oocytes, thinner endometrium, and significantly lower pregnancy rates (18.2%) compared to those with NEI phenotype-1 partners (84.6%). These data may suggest a dual role for SP in female fertility, depending on the type of male stress.

Indexed as

EndometriumOvarySemenSperm Injections, IntracytoplasmicStress, PhysiologicalAdultBiomarkersFemaleHumansHydrocortisoneInterleukin-18MalePilot ProjectsPregnancyPregnancy RateBiomarkersHydrocortisoneInterleukin-18endometrial thicknessIVF/ICSImale stressneuroendocrine-immune systemovarian responseseminal plasma

Identifiers

PMID41516408
PMCPMC12786501

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.