Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology
Endocrine Abstracts (2007) 14 P647

ECE2007 Poster Presentations (1) (659 abstracts)

Immunohistochemical evaluation of ghrelin expression in polycystic ovaries in patients with PCOS.

Hanna Komarowska 1 , Ryszard Wasko 1 , Katarzyna Iwanik 2 , Przemyslaw Majewski 2 , Alina Warenik Szymankiewicz 3 , Ludmila Rafinska 4 , Magdalena Jaskula 1 & Jerzy Sowinski 1


1Departament of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Internal Medicine, Poznan University of, Poznan, Poland; 2Depatment of Clinic Pathomorphology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland; 3Department of Gynecological Endocrinology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland; 4Department of Histology and Embryology, Poznan; University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.


Ghrelin is an endogenous ligand of the GH secretagogue receptor. The influence of ghrelin on different organs has been studied recently e.g. in the regulation of pituitary hormone release, regulation of energy homeostasis, glucose metabolism and insulin secretion, cell proliferation and reproductive function.

The etiology of PCOS has not been firmly explained, althought several pathways have been implicated – the regulatory pathways of steroid hormone synthesis, regulatory pathways of gonadotropin and GH-IGF-1 axis action, the insulin signaling pathway and pathways regulating body weight. Ghrelin seems to link these pathways.

The aim of our study was to estimate the presence of ghrelin in polycystic ovaries cells and evaluation of the relationship betwen ghrelin occurence and cells proliferation.

Methods: Ten polycystic ovaries and ovaries without pathology as the control group were compared. The ghrelin was detected using two different immunohistochemical metods with the polyclonal rabbit anti-ghrelin antibodies (Phoenix Pharmaceuticals Inc.). The cells proliferation was estimated by Ki 67 proliferation index.

Results: Ghrelin immunostaining was demonstrated in cytoplasm of ovarian secondary interstitial cells and in regressing corpora lutea. The cell nuclei were ghrelin positive in granulosa and theca layers of follicular cyst in both groups and in luteal cells of young corpora lutea in healthy ovaries. Ki 67 immunostaining was observed in granulosa and theca layers of follicular cyst in polycystic and healthy ovaries.

Conclusions: It is possible that local ghrelin expression plays an important role in the direct control of ovarian development and function and ghrelin may participate in patomechanism of PCOS.

The local Ethical Committee approved the study.

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