Potential Influence of the Corpus Luteum on Circulating Reproductive and Volume Regulatory Hormones, Angiogenic and Immunoregulatory Factors in Pregnant Women.

Potential Influence of the Corpus Luteum on Circulating Reproductive and Volume Regulatory Hormones, Angiogenic and Immunoregulatory Factors in Pregnant Women. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2019 Aug 13;: Authors: Conrad KP, Graham GM, Chi YY, Zhai X, Li M, Williams RS, Rhoton-Vlasak A, Segal MS, Wood CE, Keller-Wood M Abstract Cardiovascular function is impaired and preeclampsia risk elevated in women conceiving by in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the absence of a corpus luteum (CL). Here, we report the serial evaluation of hormones and other circulating factors in women who conceived with (or without) IVF. After a pre-pregnancy baseline, the study participants (n=19-24/cohort) were evaluated six times during pregnancy, and once postpartum (~1.6 yr). IVF pregnancies were stratified by protocol and CL number, i.e., ovarian stimulation (>1 CL) or hypothalamic-pituitary suppression (0 CL) vs spontaneous conceptions (1 CL). Results: (1) relaxin was undetectable throughout pregnancy (including late gestation) in the 0 CL cohort, but markedly elevated in ~50% of women in the >1 CL cohort; (2) progesterone, plasma renin activity, and aldosterone transiently surged at 5-6 gestational weeks in the >1 CL group; (3) soluble vascular endothelial growth factor-1 (sFLT-1) abruptly increased between 5-6 and 7-9 gestational weeks in all 3 participant cohorts producing a marked elevation in sFLT-1/PLGF (placental growth factor) ratio exceedi...
Source: Am J Physiol Endocri... - Category: Endocrinology Authors: Tags: Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab Source Type: research