Anovulation with estrogen production: receptor disorders?

Receptor antibodies have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune disorders such as Graves disease. The authors hypothesized that serum antibodies against the luteinizing hormone (LH) receptor existed in women with chronic anovulation syndrome and continuously stimulated the ovaries. Twenty patients with the clinical diagnosis of anovulation with estrogen production were studied. The effects of serum globulins on the binding of 125I-labeled human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to ovarian receptors in the patients were compared with the effects in age-matched controls. These studies did not demonstrate significant inhibition of 125I-hCG binding to ovarian receptors by immunoglobulins of patients with anovulation and estrogen production in comparison with those of control subjects. This finding suggests that the cause of anovulation with estrogen production is not an autoimmune phenomenon involving the LH receptor of the human ovary.