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Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology
Published in: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 1/2020

Open Access 01-12-2020 | Research

Growth hormone alleviates oxidative stress and improves the IVF outcomes of poor ovarian responders: a randomized controlled trial

Authors: Yan Gong, Kun Zhang, Dongsheng Xiong, Jiajing Wei, Hao Tan, Shengfang Qin

Published in: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology | Issue 1/2020

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Abstract

Background

Oxidative stress (OS), defined as an imbalance between excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) and/or reactive nitrogen species (RNS) production and antioxidant insufficiency, has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of poor ovarian response (POR). Growth hormone (GH) can reduce OS in some cell types. This study investigated whether GH can improve OS and the in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) outcomes of poor ovarian responders.

Methods

This study enrolled 105 patients with POR and 58 patients without POR (controls) who were diagnosed according to the Bologna criteria and underwent conventional IVF-ET. Poor ovarian responders were randomly assigned to two groups: the POR-GH group, which received pretreatment with GH 4 IU/d on day 2 of the previous menstrual cycle before IVF until the trigger day, and the POR-C group, which received no pretreatment. OS markers in follicular fluid (FF), ROS levels in granulosa cells (GCs), and the IVF outcomes of the groups were compared.

Results

Endometrial thickness on trigger day, the number of cleaved embryos, the number of higher-quality embryos, and the rates of embryo formation, higher-quality embryo formation, implantation and clinical pregnancy were significantly increased in the POR-GH group compared with the POR-C group (P < 0.05). Moreover, compared to those in the non-POR group, FF malondialdehyde (MDA), total oxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI) and ROS levels in GCs were significantly higher, whereas superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were significantly lower in the POR-C group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, compared with those in the POR-C group, the FF TAC was significantly increased in the POR-GH group, and TOS, OSI and intracellular ROS levels were significantly reduced (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Pretreatment with GH alleviates OS and improves oocyte quality and IVF outcomes of poor ovarian responders.

Trial registration

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Metadata
Title
Growth hormone alleviates oxidative stress and improves the IVF outcomes of poor ovarian responders: a randomized controlled trial
Authors
Yan Gong
Kun Zhang
Dongsheng Xiong
Jiajing Wei
Hao Tan
Shengfang Qin
Publication date
01-12-2020
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology / Issue 1/2020
Electronic ISSN: 1477-7827
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12958-020-00648-2

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