Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT3829

Introduction: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrinological disorders affecting reproductive age women worldwide; it is conventionally linked mostly to childbearing age; however, it has an influence on patients’ health throughout their lifespan. Tryptophan (Trp) is one the amino acids classified as an essential, meaning the body can only obtain it through external sources. It serves as a building block for proteins and acts as a substrate for several signaling molecules.

Methods: The study population comprised 326 women: 208 diagnosed with PCOS and 118 healthy individuals. PCOS was diagnosed according to the revised 2003 Rotterdam criteria. Numerous anthropometric, biochemical and hormonal measurements were performed using standard techniques and commercially available methods. Assessment of branched-chain and aromatic amino acids levels was performed with a gas-liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry.

Results: Statistical analysis revealed noticeably higher tryptophan levels in PCOS women compared to the control group: 53.66 ± 11.42 vs. 49.81 ± 11.18 nmol/ml (P < 0.01) and the significant increase of the tryptophan concentration in the PCOS group was also observed in the subpopulations of women with metabolic disturbances, such as insulin resistance, abdominal obesity or obesity. On the other hand, further analysis conducted in PCOS group, revealed that, in contrary to other aromatic amino acids, there is no difference in tryptophan level between women with and without diagnosed metabolic issues, including obesity (53.03 ± 9.69 53.88 ± 11.85; P = 0.53) and insulin resistance (53.70 ± 11.08 53.68 ± 11.66; p= 0.80).

Conclusion: Alteration of tryptophan level seems to be independent from metabolic disturbances and further studies of the kynurenine pathway, which is the main metabolic pathway for tryptophan, are needed to assess the role of tryptophan and its metabolites in the PCOS pathogenesis.