Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) serum concentrations and ovarian responsiveness in in-vitro fertilization.

The growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) axis seems to play an important role in ovarian responsiveness. Recently IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) serum concentrations have been reported to be a good marker of GH/IGF-I axis activity. In view of this finding, we measured IGFBP-3 serum concentrations in 29 women undergoing in-vitro fertilization. We found a significant correlation among IGFBP-3 serum concentrations and markers of ovarian stimulation including efficacy index, serum oestradiol concentrations and the number of follicles on the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) administration. The results of our study add additional evidence to the importance of the GH/IGF-I system in regulating ovarian responsiveness to gonadotrophin stimulation.