Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Vol 72, 1359-1363, Copyright © 1991 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

Ovarian control of pituitary hormone secretion in early human pregnancy

AM Emmi, J Skurnick, LT Goldsmith, CL Gagliardi, CL Schmidt, D Kleinberg and G Weiss
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Medicine and Dentistry-New Jersey Medical School, Newark 07103.

To determine the influence of ovarian relaxin on the secretion of pituitary GH and PRL in vivo, we evaluated circulating serum hormone levels in 17 pregnant patients with functional corpora lutea (group I) and compared them to levels in 10 patients with premature ovarian failure (POF; group II) who became pregnant with egg donation and did not have corpora lutea. Group II patients had exogenous hormonal support. Serum relaxin (RLX), GH, PRL, estradiol (E2), and progesterone levels were measured weekly by RIA from weeks 4-8 of pregnancy. Analysis of variance and covariance were used to determine hormonal relationships. Serum RLX was present in the natural pregnancy group, with a mean of 1.94 micrograms/L over the study period. Serum RLX was undetectable in the POF patients (less than 0.16 micrograms/L). No significant difference in PRL or progesterone levels between the two groups was noted. E2 levels showed an upward trend in both groups with time and were significantly higher in patients of the POF group than in group I women (P = 0.001). GH levels were significantly higher in the natural cycle patients (P = 0.02) despite lower E2 levels. These data provide additional support for the concept that RLX production in early pregnancy originates from the corpus luteum. They suggest that a luteal product, probably RLX, stimulates GH secretion in early pregnancy. This is a previously undescribed role for RLX in pituitary physiology during human pregnancy.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Tang, J. Mazella, H. Hui Zhu, and L. Tseng Ligand activated relaxin receptor increases the transcription of IGFBP-1 and prolactin in human decidual and endometrial stromal cells Mol. Hum. Reprod., April 1, 2005; 11(4): 237 - 243. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. P. Bond, L. J. Parry, C. S. Samuel, H. M. Gehring, F. L. Lederman, P. A. W. Rogers, and R. J. Summers Increased Expression of the Relaxin Receptor (LGR7) in Human Endometrium during the Secretory Phase of the Menstrual Cycle J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., July 1, 2004; 89(7): 3477 - 3485. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Seppala, R. N. Taylor, H. Koistinen, R. Koistinen, and E. Milgrom Glycodelin: A Major Lipocalin Protein of the Reproductive Axis with Diverse Actions in Cell Recognition and Differentiation Endocr. Rev., August 1, 2002; 23(4): 401 - 430. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Palejwala, L. Tseng, A. Wojtczuk, G. Weiss, and L. T. Goldsmith Relaxin Gene and Protein Expression and Its Regulation of Procollagenase and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Human Endometrial Cells Biol Reprod, June 1, 2002; 66(6): 1743 - 1748. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. Alam, E. Altieri, and F. Zegers-Hochschild Preliminary results on the role of embryonic human chorionic gonadotrophin in corpus luteum rescue during early pregnancy and the relationship to abortion and ectopic pregnancy Hum. Reprod., September 1, 1999; 14(9): 2375 - 2378. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. R. Stewart and C. A. VandeVoort Relaxin secretion by human granulosa cell culture is predictive of in-vitro fertilization–embryo transfer success Hum. Reprod., February 1, 1999; 14(2): 338 - 344. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. R. Stewart, M. S. Erikson, M. E. Erikson, S. T. Nakajima, J. W. Overstreet, B. L. Lasley, E. P. Amento, and M. Seppala The Role of Relaxin in Glycodelin Secretion J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., March 1, 1997; 82(3): 839 - 846. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]