Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the commonest endocrine disorder in women and polycystic ovaries are characterized by excess ovarian stroma that has implications for disordered follicle development in PCOS. The factors contributing to proliferation and increased density of stroma remain unclear but local overproduction of androgens may be involved.Aim: To examine differential expression of genes that regulate key proteins that comprise ...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinopathy that is associated with an adverse metabolic profile including insulin resistance and dyslipidaemia. Hyperandrogenism is the hallmark of PCOS and obesity increases androgen synthesis, partly due to accompanying hyperinsulinemia but also as a result of adipokines affecting ovarian steroidogenesis (Comim et al., 2013, PLoS ONE 8(11). Adipokines are factors secreted by adipose tissue and while a clear link betwe...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinopathy is associated with an adverse metabolic profile including obesity, insulin resistance, and dyslipidaemia. Hyperandrogenism is the hallmark of PCOS and androgen production is increased in the presence of increased adiposity. While a clear link between obesity and the severity of PCOS exists, the relationship between hyperandrogenism and adipose tissue is less clear. Interestingly, women with PCOS and raised androgen le...

Defects in any of the four functional domains of the androgen receptor (AR) (resulting from loss-of-function or gain-of-function mutations), may affect androgen action. Specific AR splice variants have been reported in women with PCOS (Wang et al, PNAS 2015 112 4743). In this study we sought to identify AR splice variants in granulosa-lutein (GL) cells of women with and without PCOS and to assess their functional significance. GL cells were ...

Central obesity and increased visceral adipose tissue (VAT) are key factors contributing to metabolic dysfunction in PCOS. We therefore hypothesized that there would be alterations in the morphology and function of adipocytes from visceral fat depots. The female offspring of pregnant sheep treated biweekly with either 100 mg of testosterone propionate (TP) or vehicle control (C) from day 62–102 of gestation develop a clinically realistic PCOS-like condition. They develop ...

Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) are at increased risk of developing insulin resistance, obesity and dyslipidemia, however obesity per se does not explain the higher incidence of insulin resistance in PCOS women when compared to the general population. Altered adipose tissue morphology and function may be a central factor contributing to metabolic disturbances in PCOS. Using a clinically realistic ovine model of PCOS we reported hyperinsulinaemia and early ...

The luteinising hormone/chorionic gonadotropin receptor (LHCGR) plays an essential role in ovarian follicular function, mediating the action of LH on theca cell steroidogenesis and, in the preovulatory follicle, on granulosa cell (GC) steroid production and the ovulatory cascade. Following ovulation, LH (and CG) are responsible for maintenance and function of the corpus luteum. Arrested antral follicle development in PCOS is characterised by premature responsiveness of GCs to ...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinopathy that is associated with anovulatory infertility, menstrual disturbances and an adverse metabolic profile. Although the pathophysiology of PCOS remains unclear, dysregulation of gene expression has been previously shown in theca and granulosa cells. In this study, we used RNA-Sequencing to compare the transcriptomes of human granulosa cells from women with and without PCOS. Granulosa cells were retri...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinopathy that is associated with anovulatory infertility, menstrual disturbances and an adverse metabolic profile. Although the pathophysiology of PCOS remains unclear, dysregulation of gene expression has been previously shown in theca and granulosa cells. In this study, we used RNA-Sequencing to compare the transcriptomes of human granulosa cells from women with and without PCOS. Granulosa cells were retri...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinopathy that is associated with anovulatory infertility, menstrual disturbances as well as an adverse metabolic profile. Although the pathophysiology of PCOS remains unclear, dysregulation of gene expression has been previously shown in theca and granulosa cells (GC). However, there has been no comprehensive analysis of steroidogenic gene expression in GCs from women with PCOS. In this study, we performed a comprehensive gene...