title: Do estrogen receptor alpha polymorphisms have any impact on the outcome in an ART program?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate two of the most studied estrogen receptor alpha polymorphisms (PvuII and XbaI) in combination, in order to evaluate their impact on an ART program outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  203 normally ovulating women who underwent IVF or ICSI treatment were genotyped for PvuII and XbaI polymorphisms in ESR1 intron 1 using Real-Time PCR. The relationship between the presence of polymorphic alleles and the ovulation induction parameters and outcome was examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women were grouped according to the number of polymorphic alleles they carried in two groups (0-2 versus 3-4 polymorphic alleles). The presence of 3 or more polymorphic alleles was associated with significantly lower E2 levels on the day of hCG administration and a significantly lower rate of good quality embryos.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is an association between ESR1 polymorphisms and some ART parameters such as the level of E2 on the day of hCG administration and the quality of the embryos. These results underline the importance of ESR1 as a candidate gene for the prediction of ovarian response to IVF/ICSI protocols. Future research work concerning several more genes is necessary for a better evaluation of patients before entering an IVF/ICSI program.
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Reproduction, IVF Unit, 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Alexandra Hospital, Athens University Medical School, 80 Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, 11528, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Elli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Anagnostou
authors.forename: Fotodotis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Malamas
authors.forename: Despina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mavrogianni
authors.forename: Vasiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dinopoulou
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Drakakis
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kallianidis
authors.forename: Dimitris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Loutradis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns; D010062:Ovulation Induction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted / Q000592:standards*; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic
chemical_list: C506487:ESR1 protein, human; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha