We investigated the cardiovascular responses to acute hypercapnia during the menstrual cycle. Eleven female subjects with regular menstrual cycles performed hypercapnic rebreathing tests during the follicular and luteal phases of their menstrual cycles. Ventilatory and cardiovascular variables were recorded breath by breath. Serum progesterone and estradiol were measured on each occasion. Serum...

Extracellular matrix regulates many cellular processes likely to be important for development and regression of corpora lutea. Therefore, we identified the types and components of the extracellular matrix of the human corpus luteum at different stages of the menstrual cycle. Two different types of extracellular matrix were identified by electron microscopy; subendothelial basal laminas and an i...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of two different luteal phase support protocols on gene expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and adhesion molecules in the human endometrium. DESIGN Eighty-four ECM protein and adhesion molecule genes were analyzed using array-based reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. SETTING Academic hospital. PATIENT(S) Nine oocyte donors. INT...

In bovine luteal cells, progesterone can directly affect its own synthesis by increasing the activity of 3β-HSD. The effect of progesterone on its own secretion coincides with increased expression of the genes for 3βHSD, StAR, and cytochrome P450scc. Therefore, progesterone regulates its own synthesis by affecting the activity of the enzymes that take part in luteal steroidogenesis, and also by...

Progesterone supplementation is universally used and has been shown to be beneficial in supplementation of the luteal phase in IVF. There are multiple options and the most commonly used include intramuscular and vaginal progesterone. A progesterone vaginal ring is a novel system for luteal support with advantages of controlled release with less frequent dosing. This review examines options for ...

This study reports 21 IVF cases with excessive ovarian response, who received gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) triggering for final oocyte maturation, followed by a human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG)-based, progesterone-free, luteal support, individually timed ('luteal coasting') according to endogenous luteal progesterone concentrations. One patient developed a brief early-onse...

The synthesis and secretion of progesterone in the corpus luteum are regulated by both endocrine and paracrine/ autocrine factors which affect the steroidogenic cells. Evidence suggests that these cells communicate via cell-cell junctional proteins, the connexins. Previously we have shown that connexin-43 is expressed in both human and baboon (Papio hamadryus anubis) corpora lutea, with differe...

It has been well demonstrated that luteal phase physiology is disrupted in in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles conducted with either gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists or antagonists, and that supplementation of the luteal phase with either exogenous progesterone or human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is necessary to optimize IVF cycle outcomes. Though both progesterone and hCG suppl...

Luteinizing hormone (LH) regulates several ovarian functions. However, the luteoprotective mechanisms of LH involved in the maintenance of bovine corpus luteum (CL) function are not well understood. Since prostaglandin F2α (PGF), PGE2 and progesterone (P4) are well documented as antiapoptotic factors in the bovine CL, we hypothesized that LH protects the CL by stimulating the local production a...

The ability of sheep luteal cells from the first corpus luteum formed after parturition (Group F) to secrete progesterone in the presence or absence of LH was compared with that of luteal cells obtained from normal cyclic ewes (Group C). Luteal concentrations of receptors for LH and prostaglandins (PG) F-2 alpha (PGF-2 alpha) and the cellular composition of corpora lutea from Groups F and C wer...