{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,8]],"date-time":"2026-01-08T01:07:26Z","timestamp":1767834446397,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":72,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,28]],"date-time":"2025-09-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1759017600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100020275","name":"Vilnius University","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100020275","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.mdpi.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Unexplained infertility (UI) remains a diagnostic challenge affecting a significant proportion of women of reproductive age. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a key mediator of angiogenesis and inflammation, has been implicated in reproductive and immune processes. This prospective observational study evaluated serum VEGF levels and allergen sensitization (via ALEX2 macroarray) in 70 women\u201451 with UI and 19 fertile controls\u2014to assess VEGF\u2019s potential as a biomarker in UI. Median VEGF concentrations were higher in women with UI compared to fertile controls (128.6 pg\/mL vs. 82.5 pg\/mL), though not statistically significantly. However, sensitized women showed significantly elevated VEGF levels compared to non-sensitized peers (115.9 pg\/mL vs. 85.7 pg\/mL, p = 0.028), and a stepwise increase in VEGF was observed with rising allergy severity (p = 0.045). Sensitization to pet allergens, particularly cat allergen Fel d 1, was associated with the highest VEGF levels. A literature review confirmed wide variability in VEGF concentrations and the lack of standardized norms. While VEGF alone may not serve as a definitive biomarker for infertility, elevated levels may reflect an underlying inflammatory state. Our findings suggest VEGF testing could support broader clinical evaluation in women with UI, especially in the presence of allergic sensitization.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms26199499","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,30]],"date-time":"2025-09-30T15:38:55Z","timestamp":1759246735000},"page":"9499","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Serum VEGF Potential as a Biomarker for Diagnosis of Female Unexplained Infertility: Does Atopy Matter?"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9742-7179","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gabija","family":"Did\u017eiokait\u0117","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, LT-01513 Vilnius, Lithuania"},{"name":"Department of Pathology, Institute of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, LT-01513 Vilnius, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aust\u0117ja","family":"Grudyt\u0117","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, LT-01513 Vilnius, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-6846-6670","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aida","family":"Kuznecovait\u0117","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, LT-01513 Vilnius, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4598-0108","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Margarita","family":"\u017dvirbl\u0117","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Cancer Institute, P. Baublio Str. 3B, LT-08406 Vilnius, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"\u017dilvinas","family":"Survila","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Saul\u0117tekio Av. 7, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Vita","family":"Pa\u0161ukonien\u0117","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Cancer Institute, P. Baublio Str. 3B, LT-08406 Vilnius, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6119-211X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Violeta","family":"Kvedarien\u0117","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, Institute of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, LT-01513 Vilnius, Lithuania"},{"name":"Clinic of Chest Diseases, Immunology and Allergology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, LT-01513 Vilnius, Lithuania"},{"name":"Center of Innovative Allergology, M. Ma\u017evydo Str. 13-47, LT-06256 Vilnius, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Njagi, P., Groot, W., Arsenijevic, J., Dyer, S., Mburu, G., and Kiarie, J. (2023). 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