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The follicular outcome after standard gonadotropin stimulation is associated with ERα and ERβ genotypes

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Abstract

The aim is to study the association of estrogen receptor α (ERα) and estrogen receptor β (ERβ) gene polymorphisms and diplotypes with ovarian response to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) stimulation and the hormone levels [FSH, luteinizing hormone (LH), E2] at the third day of the menstrual cycle. Three hundred women undergoing medically assisted reproduction and 300 women with at least one spontaneous pregnancy participated in the study. ERα PvuII and XbaI polymorphisms as well as ERβ AluI polymorphism were genotyped. The FSH, LH, and E2 levels were determined at the third day of the menstrual cycle, while the follicular size, the follicle, and oocyte numbers were recorded during oocyte retrieval. PvuII CC, XbaI GG, and AluI GG women were characterized by increased amounts of large follicles compared to PvuII TT, XbaI AA, and AluI AA women (p = 0.045, 0.01, and 0.033, respectively). The PvuII CC/XbaI GG diplotype was also significantly associated with higher large follicle numbers compared to the PvuII TT/XbaI AA diplotype (p = 0.024). However, no associations were observed between ER gene polymorphisms and the hormonal profile, the follicle/oocyte numbers, and the pregnancy rates. ERα and ERβ genetic variants were associated with ovarian response to standard gonadotropin stimulation of women undergoing in-vitro fertilization affecting mainly the follicular growth.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. I. Bouba for her contribution in the laboratory work-up.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Genetics and IVF Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical School, Ioannina University, 45110, Ioannina, Greece

    Leandros Lazaros, Christina Pamporaki, Chrysoula Kitsou, Theodoros Stefos, Konstantinos Zikopoulos, Elissavet Hatzi & Ioannis Georgiou

  2. Second Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aretaieion Hospital, Athens University, Athens, Greece

    Nikolaos Vlahos

  3. Department of Urology, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Tottori, Japan

    Atsushi Takenaka

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ioannina State General Hospital G. Chatzikosta, Ioannina, Greece

    Ioannis Kosmas

  5. Department of Urology, Medical School, Ioannina University, Ioannina, Greece

    Nikolaos Sofikitis

Authors
  1. Leandros Lazaros
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  2. Christina Pamporaki
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  3. Nikolaos Vlahos
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  4. Atsushi Takenaka
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  5. Chrysoula Kitsou
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  7. Nikolaos Sofikitis
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  8. Theodoros Stefos
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  9. Konstantinos Zikopoulos
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  10. Elissavet Hatzi
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  11. Ioannis Georgiou
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Correspondence to Ioannis Georgiou.

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Lazaros, L., Pamporaki, C., Vlahos, N. et al. The follicular outcome after standard gonadotropin stimulation is associated with ERα and ERβ genotypes. Endocrine 47, 930–935 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-014-0249-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-014-0249-3

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