Endometriosis impairs the efficacy of gamete intrafallopian transfer: results of a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether pelvic endometriosis impairs the efficacy of GIFT. DESIGN: Matched follow-up study. SETTING: University-based assisted reproduction program. PARTICIPANTS: Patients undergoing GIFT between 1987 and 1991. Cases had a primary diagnosis of endometriosis. Controls had no endometriosis and were matched with cases according to age, number of mature eggs transferred, and sperm grade. INTERVENTION: Gamete intrafallopian transfer was performed in all patients in an identical manner independent of their underlying diagnosis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pregnancy and delivery rates. RESULTS: Of 114 laparoscopic egg retrievals performed in the endometriosis group, there were 37 pregnancies (32.5%) and 27 deliveries (23.7%). Of the 214 retrievals in the control group, there were 101 pregnancies (47.2%) and 76 deliveries (35.5%). Mantel-Haenszel estimates of relative risk indicated that endometriosis significantly impaired pregnancy and delivery rates. There was no statistically significant difference in pregnancy rates according to severity of disease among endometriosis cases. There was no statistically significant difference in pregnancy rates according to severity of disease among endometriosis cases. CONCLUSIONS: Our finding that GIFT pregnancy rates were lower in women with a primary diagnosis of endometriosis than in matched controls suggests that endometriosis is associated with reduced efficacy of GIFT.

Hormonal regulation of the bovine prolactin promoter in rat pituitary tumor cells.

A 1-kilobase DNA fragment containing the promoter of the bovine prolactin gene was fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene and the activity of the promoter was assayed by transfection of the fusion gene into COS-1, HeLa, and GH3 cells. Transcription of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene driven by the prolactin promoter was detected only in GH3 cells, a rat pituitary tumor cell line. Epidermal growth factor and thyroid releasing hormone produced a stimulation of transcription, and the synthetic glucocorticoid hormone dexamethasone effected an inhibition of transcription from the prolactin promoter. None of these factors significantly affected transcription of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene fused to the Rous sarcoma virus promoter. Deletion of all but 250 base pairs of bovine prolactin 5'-flanking DNA had no effect, indicating that the signals sufficient for both stimulation and inhibition of transcription reside in close proximity to the promoter.