| BackgroundWith the scientific evidence accumulated, it has been widely accepted that cytokines are involved in the process of reproduction as well as the neuroendocrine system. Observations from clinical medicine have shown that the ovary responds to the same gonadotropic hormone (Gn) level differently even in the same superovulation regimen, which indicates there might be local regulative mechanisms in ovary. These observations are consistent with the recent researches, discovery that the ovarian function is controlled not only by the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis (HPOA) but also by the local multi-factorial regulative system within the ovarian microenvironment. The ovary produces several cytokines under the influence of Gn and steroid hormone, and these cytokines in turn elicit regulatory effects on ovarianfunction by the way of autocrine and paracrine. But how these cytokines control oocytes maturation, steroid hormone production, ovulation, and luteum function maintaining, still remains unclear.The components of follicular fluid (FF) originate partly from the secretion of granulosa cells and theca cells (e.g. glycosaminoglycan, steroid hormone) and partly from the plasma (e.g. non-steroid hormone). Because the blood vessels of ovary do not penetrate through the basal lamina of follicles, the FF provides directly the microenvironment for granulosa cells and oocytes. It has been confirmed that FF can accelerate development of blastocysts before nidation and facilitate the pregnancy process. Researches indicated that there were various types of cytokine in FF, such as inhibin and activin, insulin-like growth factor(IGF), epidermal growth factor(EGF), transforming growth factor α (TGF α ), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) , interleukins(IL-l,IL-6), and leptin etc. These cytokines play a certain role in follicular development, sex hormone production and secretion, fertilization, nidation and development of embryo. So it can say the levels of cytokines in FF may be related to whole course of pregnancy.The stem cell factor (SCF), a pleiotropic acidic glycoprotein with widely biological function, can enhance cells proliferation and differentiation. SCF is essential for hematopoiesis, melanogenesis, gametogenesis, and the development of reproductive system. It has been demonstrated that the granulosa cells, theca cells,and stromal cells in ovary can produce and secrete SCF. SCF can directly promote oocytes to grow and differentiate; and can also enhance the interactions between granulosa cells and theca cells. The researches discovered the concentrations of SCF in FF were higher in pregnancy patients than in non- pregnancy ones after embryo transfer, which indicated SCF was an important factor in oocytes growth and development. Therefore, we presume that to control the concentrations of cytokines in ovary may be beneficial for improvement of oocytes quality and pregnancy rate. At present, the researches on the relationship between SCF and reproductive regulation are confined in animal experiments, and there are few reports of human studies.In this study we intended to explore the possible role of SCF in the follicle development and the course of pregnancy, through measuring the concentrations of SCF and sex hormone in serum and FF in controlled ovulation hyper-stimulation cycle; analyzing the correlations between the levels of SCF and sex hormone in serum and FF and comparing the levels of SCF and sex hormone in serum and FF between the group of pregnancy and non-pregnancy.Material and Methods1. SubjectsFrom October 2002 to January 2003, 45 patients with with fallopian tubal defectundergoing treatment for IVF-ET were recruited from the infertility clinic service of Zhejiang Women's Hospital. All patients took standard long-course controlled ovarian hyper-stimulation treatment beginning in luteal phase, with follicular development monitored by ultrasonography. We adjusted the dosage of recombined follicle stimulating hormone (r-FSH) based on the follicular development. When the dominant follicle's dia... |
PDF Full Text Request