C. R. Tzeng

Inhibin A level in early pregnancy following in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer

Inhibin A plays an important role during pregnancy. Its concentration rises in the first trimester, plateaus in the second trimester and reaches its peak in the third trimester [1,2]. There is conflicting evidence about the source of inhibin A in early pregnancy. Previous studies using two-site enzyme immunoassays for dimeric inhibin A have reported the ovarian corpus luteum [3] or the fetoplacental unit [4] to be the major contributors of circulating inhibin. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether there was a relationship between inhibin A level and fetus number by collecting serum samples in women with

Implication of sperm head agglutination induced by a V3 peptide (fragment 307-330, HIV-1 envelope protein gp120) solution

Human semen is the main vehicle for the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); therefore, the interaction of HIV with the sperm is worthy of study. The motile sperm head fixation method was used as an in vitro model system to demonstrate the interaction of sperm with the peptide of HIV envelope protein. A micropipette loaded with semen was put into phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) containing V3 peptide (HIV-1IIIB envelope protein, fragment 307-330) or C2 peptide (HIV-1IIIB envelope protein, fragment 254-274). The V3 peptide caused a significant number of head-to-head binding sperm while the C2 peptide did not. This V3 peptide carries a high positive charge, which may overcome the electrostatic resistance on the cell to bring the sperm together. An HIV-CD4+ cell attachment inhibitor, dextran sulfate (DS, molecular weight about 5000), enhanced the sperm head agglutination induced by the V3 peptide. DS is presumed able to bind with specific sites near the V3 domain of gp120 to induce conformational change so as to prevent the binding of anti-V3 monoclonal antibodies or CD4+ cells to the V3 domain. This study suggests that DS interacts directly with the V3 peptide to enhance the sperm head agglutination.

Buserelin treatment of endometriosis in Chinese women

Twenty five patients with endometriosis of varying degree had been treated with Buserelin (GnRH analogue) for 6 months. Among them, 83.4% reached castrated level by measuring the serum estradiol (E2) 2 months after therapy. Dysmenorrhea was alleviated or completely disappeared during therapy. Hot flush was the one mostly complained. Vaginal dryness was the second and decreased libido the third. Persisted periodic bleeding was noted in 3 patients. Ovulation was suppressed as evidenced by low serum progesterone throughout the whole course of treatment. Second-look laparoscopy was done at the end of 6-month therapy. Scoring assigned by the American Fertility Society (AFS) was reduced by 27.5%. The adrenal gland, liver and renal functions as well serum calcium and phosphate were retained at the end of treatment. Ovulation and menstruation also returned to normal within 2 months after cessation of therapy. There were 4 pregnancies during the 6-month follow period (4/15 = 26.6% pregnancy rate). 7 patients had improved symptoms whereas 7 patients sustained recurrent dysmenorrhea. The hormonal profile showed that dysmenorrhea improved group had better ovarian suppression than the dysmenorrhea recurrent group.