Pharmacokinetics of exogenous gonadotropin and ovarian response in in vitro fertilization

A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind Study to Compare Two Doses of Recombinant Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in Inducing Final Oocyte Maturity and the Hormonal Profile during the Luteal Phase

“…A previous study has shown that the ratio of the level of hCG in follicular fluid to that in serum was a good marker for pregnancy [22] . It was suggested that a follicular fluid level of 62 IU/liter was the lowest level of hCG associated with pregnancy, and the ratio of the follicular fluid to serum hCG level must be at least 0.46 for pregnancy to occur.…”

Amphiregulin is much more abundantly expressed than transforming growth factor-alpha and epidermal growth factor in human follicular fluid obtained from patients undergoing in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer

“…However, to our surprise, we found that AR is inversely related to oocyte quality, FR, and pregnancy outcome. Furthermore, the concentration of AR also was inversely related to that of exogenous hCG, which we used as an index of hCG signal to follicle (22). Thus, the elevation of AR does not imply the competence of oocyte maturation, and we can speculate that hCG injection may decrease the AR concentration in FF to trigger oocyte maturation.…”

“…After ovum pickup, the obtained oocytes were placed in insemination medium 1-4 hours before insemination with 50,000-500,000 motile spermatozoa per milliliter of medium, as reported elsewhere (22). The presence of two pronuclei was identified 12-16 hours after insemination, and the embryos were placed in growth medium.…”

“…To clarify which EGF receptor ligand is most important in human follicular maturation, we measured three distinct EGF receptor ligands, that is, EGF, TGFa, and AR, all of which share a common EGF receptor (ErbB1) (21), in FF that was obtained from patients who underwent IVF-ET in our institute, and we also explored the relationship between IVF-ET outcome and the level of the EGF receptor ligand that is most abundant in human FF. In a study elsewhere, we reported that the diffusion of exogenous hCG into the FF may be an important predictor of IVF outcome and that the level of hCG in FF may reflect the degree of hCG signals to follicles (22). Thus, we explored the association between the hCG level and EGF receptor ligand level in FF.…”

Follicular fluid metabolome and cytokinome profiles in poor ovarian responders and the impact of dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation

“…46 PORs are known to exhibit a low diffusion of exogenous gonadotropin into FF, which is correlated with poor IVF outcomes. 47 It is conceivable that DHEA induced the metabolism of phosphatidylcholine to glycerophosphorylcholine, and that a different DHEA supplementation regimen might lead to changes in FF composition, albeit at unknown effects on clinical outcomes. Progesterone is one of the key hormones for the progress of the first metiotic division in oocyte maturation, but changes to progesterone levels with DHEA supplementation has been fraught with controversies 48 .…”