Association of FCRL3 C-169T promoter single-nucleotide polymorphism with idiopathic infertility and infertility-related endometriosis

An aberrant immunological mechanism is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. The present study aimed to determine whether there is a relationship between endometriosis and/or infertility and the FCRL3 C-169T polymorphism. This case-control study included 167 infertile women with endometriosis, 60 women with idiopathic infertility and 167 fertile women. Detection of the FCRL3 C-169T polymorphism was performed using TaqMan PCR. A significant difference in the genotype and allele frequencies of the FCRL3 C-169T polymorphism between endometriosis-related infertility (p = 0.003 and p = 0.001) and idiopathic infertility (p = 0.027 and p = 0.0185) versus controls was demonstrated. In conclusion, the results suggest that the FCRL3 C-169T polymorphism may play an important role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis and/or infertility.