Objectives: To determine the concentrations of hyaluronic acid, FSH, P, and E2 in the follicular fluid (FF) obtained from IVF-ET patients and to assess the value of these measurements in predicting the outcome of fertilization.
Design: One hundred eleven samples were retrospectively analyzed for the hyaluronic acid and hormone contents.
Setting: University-based tertiary care center.
Patients: Preovulatory FF samples were collected from 67 women undergoing IVF-ET treatment because of tubal absence or obstruction.
Main outcome measures: The FF hyaluronic acid and hormone concentrations were compared according to the type of ovulation induction, follicular development, and IVF outcome.
Results: According to the type of ovulation induction, a significantly lower hyaluronic acid concentration was found in FF harvested from the patients treated with GnRH agonist-hMG. No significant correlation was found between FF hyaluronic acid and either morphological maturity of the oocyte-cumulus complex or fertilizability of oocytes. The level of FSH was significantly higher in FF, yielding a mature oocyte-cumulus complex and from which the oocyte obtained successfully fertilized and cleaved. A significant increase in the E2 concentration was found in FF in which mature cumuli oophori were present. The levels of hyaluronic acid significantly correlated with FSH in FF.
Conclusions: Expansion of the human oocyte-cumulus cell complex is an FSH-dependent phenomenon. The data are in agreement with the hypothesis that intrafollicular FSH plays an important role in the secretion of hyaluronic acid by granulosa cells and may act synergistically with E2 to enhance cytoplasmic maturation, resulting in successful fertilization.