A new concept of cotreatment with human growth hormone and menotropins in ovulation induction protocols.

Follicular development in the primordial and preantral stages is almost completely independent of gonadotrophins or steroids and is mainly dependent on growth factors and local regulators. Since human growth hormone (hGH) was found to facilitate ovarian response to gonadotrophin stimulation, we hypothesized that the administration of hGH in an hypogonadotrophic state and prior to ovarian stimulation with menotropins, may initiate or facilitate the propagation of the primordial and preantral follicles to the gonadotrophin-dependent stages. We suggest that treatment with hGH prior to menotropin administration may be useful to improve results for poor responders to gonadotrophins.

Interleukin-2 production by cultured human granulosa cells.

Objective: To determine whether cultured human granulosa cells (GC) produce Interleukin (IL)-2 and whether this GC IL-2 production may be regulated by human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).

Materials And Methods: Human GC derived from preovulatory follicles during in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles were cultured in the absence or presence of hCG. Interleukin-2 was measured in tissue-culture medium by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system.