Search Results

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) undergoing IVF–embryo transfer based-assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment show variable ovarian responses to exogenous FSH administration. For better understanding and control of PCOS ovarian responses in ART, the present study was carried out to compare the follicular hormones and the expression of granulosa cell genes between PCOS and non-PCOS women during ART treatment as well as their IVF outcomes. Overall, 138 PCOS and 78 non-PCOS women were recruited for the present study. Follicular fluid collected from PCOS women showed high levels of testosterone. The expression of aromatase was found significantly reduced in luteinized granulosa cells from PCOS women. In cultured luteinized granulosa cells isolated from non-PCOS women, their exposure to testosterone at a level that was observed in PCOS follicles could decrease both mRNA and protein levels of aromatase in vitro. The inhibitory effect of testosterone was abolished by androgen receptor antagonist, flutamide. These results suggest that the hyperandrogenic follicular environment may be a key hazardous factor leading to the down-regulation of aromatase in PCOS.

Endometriosis, one of the most frequent diseases in gynecology, is a benign but invasive and metastatic disease. The altered expression of E-cadherin may play an important role in developing endometriosis. In this paper, we discuss the association of three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on the E-cadherin gene and risk of endometriosis. We examined the genotype frequency of three polymorphisms in 152 endometriosis patients and 189 control women. There was a significant difference in the frequency of the E-cadherin 3′-UTR C → T genotypes between endometriosis and controls (P = 0.01). The frequency of the C allele in patients (71.1%) was significantly higher than in the controls (63.8%; P = 0.04). When compared with the T/T + T/C genotypes, the C/C genotype had a significantly increased susceptibility to endometriosis, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.79 (95% confidence interval = 1.17–2.76). No significant difference was found between endometriosis and control women on two polymorphisms (−160 C → A, −347 G → GA) at the gene promoter region of E-cadherin. The −160 C → A and −347 G → GA polymorphisms displayed linkage disequilibrium (D′ = 0.999). The −160 A/−347 GA haplotype was only detected in endometriosis patients (2%). These data show a relation between the E-cadherin 3′-UTR C → T polymorphism, the −160 A/−347 GA haplotype of two promoter polymorphisms and risk of endometriosis, suggesting a potential role in endometriosis development, at least in North Chinese women.