Fang Lanlan, Yu Yiping, Zhang Ruizhe, He Jingyan, Sun Ying-Pu
Reproductive Medical Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, China.
Sci Rep. 2016 Jun 22;6:28036. doi: 10.1038/srep28036.
Growth differentiation factor-8 (GDF-8) is found in the human serum, follicular fluid and granulosa cells. Our previous studies have shown that the human cumulus expansion and steroidogenesis can be regulated by GDF-8. However, thus far, the expression profile of GDF-8 in serum and whether the level of serum GDF-8 influences pregnancy results for patients treated with in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer (IVF/ICSI-ET) is totally unknown. In this study, we showed that GDF-8 had a dynamic trend during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) procedure. On human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration day, patients with a GDF-8 level higher than 4.7 ng/ml had lower progesterone levels and a higher pregnancy rate. From hCG day to oocyte pick-up day, patients with a GDF-8 decrease greater than 1.3 ng/ml had a higher progesterone increase and a higher pregnancy rate. Importantly, the levels of GDF-8 were negatively correlated with progesterone levels. Our findings provide evidences that GDF-8 plays an important role in ensuring successful pregnancy by regulating progesterone levels.
生长分化因子8（GDF-8）存在于人体血清、卵泡液和颗粒细胞中。我们之前的研究表明，GDF-8可调节人类卵丘扩展和类固醇生成。然而，迄今为止，GDF-8在血清中的表达谱以及血清GDF-8水平是否会影响接受体外受精/卵胞浆内单精子注射-胚胎移植（IVF/ICSI-ET）治疗的患者的妊娠结局完全未知。在本研究中，我们发现GDF-8在控制性卵巢刺激（COH）过程中呈现动态变化趋势。在注射人绒毛膜促性腺激素（hCG）当天，GDF-8水平高于4.7 ng/ml的患者孕酮水平较低，但妊娠率较高。从hCG日到取卵日，GDF-8下降幅度大于1.3 ng/ml的患者孕酮升高幅度较大且妊娠率较高。重要的是，GDF-8水平与孕酮水平呈负相关。我们的研究结果表明，GDF-8通过调节孕酮水平在确保成功妊娠中发挥重要作用。
