Effect Of Progesterone In The Peritoneal Fluid Of Infertile Patients With Endometriosis On Human Sperm Motility

Objective: To evaluate the effect of progesterone in the peritoneal fluid of infertile patients with endometriosis in relation to human sperm motilityMethods: Peritoneal fluid was collected from 41 patients through laparoscopy, of which 17 were infertile patients with endometriosis, 11 were fertile patients with endometriosis and 13 were fertile controls. Then the concentration of progesterone in peritoneal fluid was measured by the immulyze-enzyme amplified luminescence system. After 4 hours of incubation in vitro with the collected peritoneal fluid, sperm motility was assessed by computer-assisted analyzer (CASA).Results: In the proliferative phase, the concentration of progesterone in the peritoneal fluid was of no significant difference among the three groups, namely infertile patients with endometriosis, the fertile patients with endometriosis and the fertile controls (P＞0.05).Sperm motion parameters (A, VCL, VSL, VAP, LIN, STR, ALH) of the patients with endometriOsis were significantly lower than that of the fertile controls(P＜0.05). Though sperm motility was enhanced after incubation with exogenous progesterone, no significant correlation was established between the concentration of progesterone in the peritoneal fluid and the sperm motility (P＞0.05).Conclusions: In the proliferative phase, the concentration of progesterone in the peritoneal fluid of the infertile patients with endometriosis is not significantly different from that of the fertile controls. In thecase of the infertile patients with endometriosis, the peritoneal fluid tends to inhibit the sperm motility. The relationship between the inhibition and the concentration of progesterone in the peritoneal fluid of the infertile patients with endometriosis is yet to be studied further.