Introduction: Progesterone is the hormone of pregnancy and is required for its initiation. The actions of progesterone are mediated by the progesterone receptor. Polymorphic variants of human progesterone receptor genes have been implicated in implantation failure.
Materials and methods: We, therefore, investigated the prevalence of H770H (C/T genotype), V660L polymorphism and a 306 bp Alu insertion in exon 7 of the progesterone receptor among women with history of recurrent implantation failure to determine whether any of these polymorphisms may serve as a risk factor for implantation failure. DNA was extracted from the buccal swabs obtained from 66 women experiencing implantation failure and 75 fertile control women. PCR amplification of fragments was purified and the DNA sequenced to identify the polymorphism. The frequencies for the three variants were 27% for H770H, 21% for V660L and 0% for the 306 bp Alu insertion in exon 7 among women with implantation failure compared with control women of 25% for H770H and 24%for V660L and 0% for the 306 bp Alu insertion in exon 7.
Discussion: No significant differences in the overall allelic frequency of progesterone receptor variants was seen when women experiencing recurrent implantation failure were compared with control women.
Conclusion: We conclude that the H770H and V660L and PROGINS progesterone receptor polymorphisms are not markers that can identify women at risk for recurrent implantation after IVF/ET.