Lack of association of the common immunologically anomalous LH with endometriosis

BACKGROUND: Subfertile women with endometriosis have been reported to demonstrate impaired follicular growth, ovulatory dysfunction and disturbed LH patterns. In addition, abnormal LH and/or LH receptors have been linked with endometriosis-associated infertility. Carriers of a variant of the beta-subunit of luteinizing hormone (V-LH) are largely healthy; however, differences in their gonadal function such as alterations in gonadal steroidogenesis, ovarian reserve, pubertal development and predisposition to diseases such as infertility and polycystic ovarian disease have been found. METHODS AND RESULTS: To explore the possible relationship between endometriosis and V-LH, we examined its frequency in 230 women undergoing laparoscopic surgery for the investigation of infertility. For the entire study population, 185 (80.4%) were wild type; 42 (18.3%) were heterozygous; and three (1.3%) were homozygous for V-LH. No difference was found between women with (n = 85) and without (n = 145) endometriosis concerning the frequency of the type of LH. CONCLUSION: Our results do not support the hypothesis that the variant form of LH is associated with an altered risk of endometriosis in the population tested.