title: Effect of Pioglitazone on Production of Regulated upon Activation Normal T-cell Expressed and Secreted (RANTES) and IVF Outcomes in Infertile Women with Endometriosis.
abstract: This study was performed to investigate the effect of peroxisome proliferators activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) ligand, pioglitazone, on production of regulated upon activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome in infertile patients with endometriosis. Sixty-four infertile patients with stage III or IV endometriosis undergoing IVF were randomly allocated to the study or the control group. The long protocol of GnRH agonist (GnRH-a) was used for controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) in all patients. Patients in the study group were treated with pioglitazone at a dose of 15 mg/day orally from the starting day of GnRH-a treatment to the day of hCG injection. Blood samples were drawn for serologic assay of RANTES on the first day of GnRH-a treatment and the day of hCG injection. There were no differences between the study and control groups in patient characteristics. There were also no differences between the two groups in COS duration, and the numbers of retrieved oocytes, fertilized oocytes and embryos transferred. The clinical pregnancy rate per cycle was higher in the study group, but this difference was not statistically significant. However, embryo implantation rate was significantly higher in the study group of 12.5% compared with 8.6% in the control group (P<0.05). The serum RANTES levels after pioglitazone treatment were significantly lower than those before pioglitazone treatmen in the study group (P<0.05). Our data suggest that pioglitazone treatment can suppress RANTES production and improve the embryo implantation rate in patients with endometriosis undergoing IVF.
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 138-736, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Chung-Hoon
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 138-736, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: You-Jeong
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 138-736, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jun-Bum
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 138-736, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung-Hee
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 138-736, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Su-Kyung
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Ulsan University Hospital, Ulsan 682-714, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jun-Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 138-736, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 138-736, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hee-Dong
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Chae
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 138-736, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Byung-Moon
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Kang
keywords: Controlled ovarian stimulation; Endometriosis; IVF; PPAR-γ ligand; Pioglitazone; Regulated upon activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted