Endocrine Abstracts

The population of follicles within the mammalian ovary declines steadily with age. The majority of follicles in the ovary are at the primordial (resting) stage of development, each consisting of a small oocyte surrounded by a single layer of flattened granulosa cells (GCs). The rate at which follicles enter the growing phase, involving oocyte growth and GC shape change and proliferation, is a major determinant of the rate at which the reserve of primordial follicles is deplete...

Background/aims: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women, being characterized by ovarian hyperandrogenism attributed to intrinsic overproduction by theca cells (TCs). Although previous reports pointed a higher stability and transcription of CYP17mRNA (Wickenheisser JK et al. 2006)1, few have examined (and none has quantified) P450c17 protein expression in TCs from PCOS ovaries. Therefore, the aim of this study is to qua...

Insulin resistance is common in women with PCOS. Insulin and IGF-1 affect glucose uptake and metabolism via insulin receptor substrate (IRS-1) and the phosphotidyl inositol-3-kinase (PI3K) pathway. Impaired glucose metabolism has been observed in granulosa-lutein cells from anovulatory (but not ovulatory) women with PCO (Rice et al. 2005). The aim of this study was to analyse IRS-1 protein expression in human preantral follicles in samples of normal and PCO. Immunohisto...

Preantral follicle development in polycystic ovaries (PCO) is characterised by an increased proportion of early growing follicles. We have previously shown that IGF-1 stimulates initiation of follicle growth in normal and PCO (Endocrine Abstracts 2004 7 P172). Here we have extended these studies, specifically to examine whether the ovulatory status of the patients from whom tissue is obtained influences the response to IGF-1. Small ovarian biopsies were obtained (with ethical ...

Ovarian ageing is a naturally occurring physiological process, marked by dynamic changes in ovarian function and hormone secretion. A key endocrine regulator of ovarian function is the heterodimeric glycoprotein hormone, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). FSH is secreted as two glycosylation variants: partially glycosylated FSH (FSH21) and fully glycosylated FSH (FSH24). These variants have different in-vitro activities, with FSH21 more bioactive than FSH24. Interest...

Ovarian aging is a naturally occurring physiological process, marked by dynamic changes in ovarian function and hormone secretion. Ovarian ageing is associated with several co-morbidities, including; osteoporosis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and impaired cognitive function, therefore, understanding the physiological processes regulating this is imperative for identifying novel treatment modalities. A key endocrine regulatory of ovarian function is the heterodimer glycopro...

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 ...

The factors responsible for regulating primordial follicle activation and early preantral follicle growth remain poorly understood, despite their importance in determining a female’s reproductive lifespan. The essential role of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) family of receptors (ErbBs) during ovulation is well established; however there is emerging evidence that ErbBs may also be important regulators of early follicle development. This study aimed to investigate the ro...

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...

We have reviewed the outcome of a low-dose step-up regimen for induction of ovulation in clomiphene-unresponsive women with PCOS and in women with hypothalamic hypogonadism (HH), treated at a single centre. Data from 366 women with PCOS and 80 with HH (1165 records) were entered into a FileMakerPro database, refined and constrained to allow stratification and analysis of relevant data. 85% of cycles were ovulatory in both PCOS and HH. PCOS patients were more likely to have cyc...