Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Vol 76, 1470-1476, Copyright © 1993 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

Enhanced ovarian steroid secretion before implantation in early human pregnancy

DR Stewart, JW Overstreet, ST Nakajima and BL Lasley
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California, Davis 95616.

Previous studies have compared ovarian steroid production in the luteal phase of nonconceptive and conceptive cycles. Some investigators reported higher preimplantational levels of progesterone in conceptive cycles vs. nonconceptive cycles, but other studies have found no differences. Many of these results were difficult to interpret because the studies included infertile women and/or women who received exogenous hormones. In this study we have characterized the profiles of gonadotropin secretion and ovarian steroid response during early pregnancy in a population of spontaneously ovulating women and compared them to those in nonconceptive cycles of recently fertile women. Blood samples were collected daily during the luteal phase from 24 women during 51 cycles of artificial insemination with donor semen. Cycles were segregated to those from women who had a successful term pregnancy (normal group) and those having an early spontaneous abortion (SAB group) and were also classified as nonconceptive or conceptive based on measurements of hCG. Serum LH and FSH did not show marked differences between nonconceptive and conceptive cycles in the periimplantation period in either the normal or SAB group. In the normal group, estradiol concentrations were significantly higher in conceptive cycles than in nonconceptive cycles beginning 6 days after the LH peak and continuing through the end of the cycle, while differences in progesterone concentrations bordered on or exceeded significance during the same time period. In the SAB group, preimplantation differences in pituitary gonadotropin and ovarian steroid secretion were not observed, whereas the postimplantation hCG concentrations in the SAB group were significantly lower than those in the normal group. It is reasoned that embryos with defective post-implantation hCG secretion may have had this defect before detection of hCG in serum, thus accounting for the lack of stimulation of steroid secretion in these pregnancies. These findings suggest that the enhanced ovarian steroid secretion in conceptive cycles may be due to a gonadotropic stimulus from the preimplantation embryo.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. A. Venners, X. Liu, M. J. Perry, S. A. Korrick, Z. Li, F. Yang, J. Yang, B. L. Lasley, X. Xu, and X. Wang Urinary estrogen and progesterone metabolite concentrations in menstrual cycles of fertile women with non-conception, early pregnancy loss or clinical pregnancy Hum. Reprod., September 1, 2006; 21(9): 2272 - 2280. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. C. W. Chan, E. H. Y. Ng, O. S. Tang, W. S. B. Yeung, E. Y. L. Lau, and P. C. Ho 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 J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., July 1, 2005; 90(7): 3933 - 3938. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. J. Vitzthum, H. Spielvogel, and J. Thornburg Interpopulational differences in progesterone levels during conception and implantation in humans PNAS, February 10, 2004; 101(6): 1443 - 1448. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. D. Baird, C. R. Weinberg, D. R. McConnaughey, and A. J. Wilcox Rescue of the Corpus Luteum in Human Pregnancy Biol Reprod, February 1, 2003; 68(2): 448 - 456. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. chen, Q. Qiu, P. N. Lohstroh, J. W. Overstreet, and B. L. Lasley Hormonal Characteristics in the Early Luteal Phase of Conceptive and Nonconceptive Menstrual Cycles Reproductive Sciences, January 1, 2003; 10(1): 27 - 31. [Abstract] [PDF]

				E. Hung Yu Ng, W. Shu Biu Yeung, E. Yee Lan Lau, W. Wai Ki So, and P. Chung Ho A rapid decline in serum oestradiol concentrations around the mid-luteal phase had no adverse effect on outcome in 763 assisted reproduction cycles Hum. Reprod., September 1, 2000; 15(9): 1903 - 1908. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. L. Larimore and J. B. Stanford Postfertilization Effects of Oral Contraceptives and Their Relationship to Informed Consent Arch Fam Med, February 1, 2000; 9(2): 126 - 133. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. I. Sharara and H. D. McClamrock Ratio of oestradiol concentration on the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin administration to mid-luteal oestradiol concentration is predictive of in-vitro fertilization outcome Hum. Reprod., November 1, 1999; 14(11): 2777 - 2782. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. R. Stewart and C. A. VandeVoort Simulation of Human Luteal Endocrine Function with Granulosa Lutein Cell Culture J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., September 1, 1997; 82(9): 3078 - 3083. [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]