The role of anti‐Müllerian hormone in female fertility and infertility – an overview

Abstract

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) plasma levels reflect the continuous non-cyclic growth of small follicles, thereby mirroring the size of the resting primordial follicle pool and thus acting as a useful marker of ovarian reserve. Anti-Müllerian hormone seems to be the best endocrine marker for assessing the age-related decline of the ovarian pool in healthy women; thus, it has a potential ability to predict future reproductive lifespan. The most established role for AMH measurements is before in vitro fertilization is initiated, because AMH can be predictive of the ovarian response, namely poor and hyper-responses. However, recent research has also highlighted the use of AMH in a variety of ovarian pathological conditions, including polycystic ovary syndrome, granulosa cell tumors and premature ovarian failure. A new commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for measuring AMH levels has been developed, making results from different studies more comparable. Nevertheless, widespread clinical application awaits an international standard for AMH, so that results using future assays can be reliably compared.

Ovarian reserve and subsequent assisted reproduction outcomes after methotrexate therapy for ectopic pregnancy or pregnancy of unknown location

“…The altered ovarian physiology from exogenous gonadotropin stimulation could result in increased uptake and exposure to chemotherapeutic agents (10). Additionally, infertile patients are often older and demonstrate lower ovarian reserve than spontaneously fertile patients (17). It is biologically plausible the patients requiring ART may have ovaries and follicles that are more susceptible to the damaging effects of chemotherapy when compared to spontaneously fertile women.…”

Serum Anti-Müllerian Hormone Concentration in Young Women with Chronic Kidney Disease on Hemodialysis, and After Successful Kidney Transplantation

“…The highest serum AMH concentrations are observed during puberty. The main function of AMH in folliculogenesis is the inhibition of excessive recruitment of primordial follicles and modification of the preantral and antral follicles growth by the reduction of their sensitivity to stimulation by FSH [14,16].…”

Ovarian Function after Chemotherapy in Young Breast Cancer Survivors

“…Anti-Müllerian hormone (amh), a glycoprotein of the transforming growth factor β family produced by the granulosa cells of the ovary from birth until menopause, is measurable in serum 16,17 . Serum amh indirectly reflects the oocyte or primordial follicle pool, which declines over time, making it a good marker of ovarian reserve [18][19][20] . Unlike inhibin B and follicle-stimulating hormone, serum amh is relatively stable across the menstrual cycle, and amh measurement is less invasive than transvaginal ultrasonic assessment of antral follicle count 21 .…”