hCG Concentration in Peripheral Maternal Blood After Embryo Transfer, Ongoing Pregnancy
hCG Concentration in Peripheral Maternal Blood After Embryo Transfer, Ongoing Pregnancy
hCG is a hormone produced very early by the embryo, but not by the oocyte. It has a pivotal role in the trophoblast differentiation, and embryo implantation as well as the corpus luteum support. In spite of its well-known role, the literature about it is scarce.
The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the relationship between the hCG concentration in peripheral maternal blood measured 11 days after embryo transfer, embryo morphokinetics pattern and the abortion and ongoing pregnancy rates.
We will study patients having transference of blastocyst cultured in time lapse monitored incubators and will check all the morphokinetics parameters with the IVI database.
Human chorionic gonadotrophin is a two subunits (alpha and beta) glycoprotein hormone secreted by blastocyst trophoblastic cells.
It plays a role in progesterone secretion by corpus luteum, endometrium invasion and fusion by trophoectoderm, angiogenesis, and induction of trophoblast differentiation Shortly after embryo implantation, trophoblastic hCG is detectable in maternal blood, and its concetration depends on the number and functionality of trophoectoderm cells. Therefore, hCG concentration in maternal blood is measured as an early pregnancy marker.
However, hCG concentration in several women showed high variability, and embryo implantation also depends on endometrial receptivity, what means that in early stages, everything affecting endometrial receptivity, may affect hCG concentration.
Early high hCG concentration has been related with higher pregnancy rate and it has been proposed that hCG concentration may be related to the time of embryo implantation and the viable trophoectoderm cell number.
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