Blood ghrelin, adiponectin and resistin levels during controlled ovarian stimulation in IVF cycles

The aim of the present study was to investigate changes of blood ghrelin, adiponectin and resistin levels in IVF/ICSI-ET cycles. Twenty women were stimulated with recombinant FSH in a GnRH agonist short protocol for IVF/ICSI. Blood samples were taken on cycle day 2 before the commencement of injections, on cycle day 6 and on the days of HCG injection, oocyte pick up (OPU), embryo transfer (ET) as well as 7 and 12 days post-ET. Serum E2 levels increased during the stimulation, peaking on the HCG day and declined thereafter (p<0.001). Serum progesterone levels started to increase on the OPU day, peaking on the ET day (p<0.001) and decreased on days 7 and 12 post-ET. Plasma ghrelin remained unchanged during the whole cycle. Serum adiponectin levels remained stable during the stimulation period until the ET day and decreased on days 7 and 12 post-ET (p<0.001). Serum resistin levels increased until the ET day (p<0.05), remained unchanged on day 7 post-ET and decreased on day 12 post-ET (p<0.05). The present study shows for the first time that ghrelin levels did not change significantly during IVF/ICSI-ET cycles. Resistin levels increased during the stimulation period while adiponectin levels remained stable decreasing during the luteal phase.