Background: A thin endometrium has become a common reason for the repeated implantation failure.Growth hormone (GH) can regulate the proliferation and metabolism of endometrial cells. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of GH on thin endometrium.Methods: A total of 48 female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned to the following 4 groups with 12 rats in each group: blank control, model, subcutaneous, and GH groups. The blank control group was untreated and maintained in a routine manner. The model, subcutaneous, and GH groups were intrauterine perfused with 95% ethanol during estrus. After 6-8 h, the model group was intrauterine perfused with 0.2 mL normal saline, the subcutaneous group received subcutaneous injection of 0.12 mg/kg GH dissolved in 0.2 mL normal saline, and the GH group was intrauterine perfused with 0.12 mg/kg GH dissolved in 0.2 mL normal saline. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to examine the thickness of the endometrium. The expression of cytokeratin and vimentin was detected by western blotting and immunohistochemistry.Results: The intima thickness in the GH group and blank control group was increased compared with that in the model group (P<0.01). The intima thickness in the subcutaneous group was increased compared with that in the model group, but there was no significant difference. The expression of vimentin and cytokeratin was increased in the GH (P<0.01) and blank control (P<0.01) groups compared with that in the model group.Conclusions: Intrauterine perfusion of GH can promote the regeneration and repair of thin endometrium in rats. The therapeutic effect of uterine infusion of GH is better than that of subcutaneous injection of GH.

The effects of letrozole plus human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG) on ovarian stimulation (OS) of intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles were examined.Methods: In all, 1,005 IUI cycles were included in this study. Couples underwent natural cycle (NC) IUI (n=150) or IUI after OS with letrozole (n=207) or IUI after OS with letrozole + HMG (n=648).Results: The clinical pregnancy rates were 9.0%, 13.0%, and 17.0%, and the live birth rates were 7.0%, 9.0%, and 14.0% in the NC, letrozole, and letrozole + HMG IUI groups, respectively. The twin pregnancy rate of the letrozole + HMG group (11.0%) was higher than that of the NC (7.0%) and letrozole groups (4.0%). To date, the only triplet pregnancies to occur were in the letrozole + HMG group. On the day of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), the number of follicles with an average follicle diameter greater than 18 mm in the letrozole + HMG group (1.21±0.56) and letrozole group (1.14±0.48) was greater than that in the NC group (0.85±0.36). The thickness of the endometrium in the letrozole + HMG group (8.8±2.1 mm) was significantly greater than that in the letrozole group (7.3±1.6 mm). Conclusions:The letrozole + HMG protocol of OS in IUI can improve follicular development, increase the thickness of endometrium, significantly increase the live birth rate, but not significantly increase the multiple pregnancy rate.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether endogenous prostaglandins are involved in the regulation of sexual steroid receptor concentration and cytosol to nucleus translocation in the rabbit uterus. The animals were injected s.c. with indomethacin (10 mg/kg) twice daily on days 5 and 6 and on the morning of day 7 of pregnancy or pseudopregnancy and killed 2 h after the last injection. The indomethacin treatment did not change progesterone and oestradiol serum concentrations compared with animals injected with vehicle only. No differences were observed either in progesterone receptor or oestradiol (pregnant animals only) receptor concentration and intracellular distribution in endometria of indomethacin-treated or control animals. In an extended experiment indomethacin given to oestrogen-pretreated ovariectomized rabbits did not inhibit the nuclear progesterone receptor accumulation induced by a single progesterone injection. These results suggest that there is no direct relationship between prostaglandins and sexual steroid receptors in the rabbit uterus.