Insulin-like factor 3 -- a new hormone related to polycystic ovary syndrome?
2012
Introduction: The aim of this study was to find a correlation between insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3) and androgens: androstenedione (A),
free testosterone (fT), and total testosterone (T), in two groups of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) women: those with a body mass
index (BMI) lower than 25 kg/m 2 and those with a BMI higher than 25 kg/m 2 . The association between INSL3 and other serum parameters:
luteinising hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S), sex hormone binding globulin
(SHBG) and glucose and insulin were also investigated.
Material and methods: The study group comprised 37 PCOS women aged 27 ± 4 years. The control group consisted of 34 healthy, premenopausal
women (aged 24.2 ± 1.2) with regular menses and no signs of hyperandrogenism. There were 27 PCOS women of normal
weight (BMI 2 ), and ten overweight individuals (BMI ≥ 25–30 kg/m 2 ). Correlations between level of INSL3 and LH, FSH, T, fT,
A, DHEA-S, SHBG, metabolic tests, height, weight, and WHR (waist-to-hip ratio) were also investigated.
Results: PCOS women showed non-significantly higher levels of INSL3 compared to the healthy controls (64.6 ± 27.7 and 62.7 ± 20.0 ng/mL,
respectively). However, we identified very strong correlations between INSL3 and androstenedione (r = 0.48, p = 0.0115), and free
(r = 0.44, p = 0.0108) and total testosterone (r = 0.46, p = 0.0057) in the PCOS subgroup with a BMI of 2 . There was no statistically
significant correlation between INSL3 and LH in any subject of the PCOS group, nor between INSL3 and FSH, DHEA-S, glucose,
basal insulin concentration or HOMA-IR.
Conclusions: We found a positive correlation between INSL3 and androgens in PCOS women, especially those with a BMI of 2 .
This may play a key role in PCOS pathophysiology. (Endokrynol Pol 2012; 63 (5): 356-361)
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