This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Lifestyle intervention alters estrogen, androgen receptor expression in PCOS
Estrogen receptor and androgen receptor expression in the endometrium of women with polycystic ovary syndrome and obesity are altered, but not fully restored, with a lifestyle intervention for weight loss.
Mariana Hulchiy, MD, PhD, of the department of women’s and children’s health at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, and colleagues evaluated 20 women with PCOS and obesity, 10 BMI-matched regularly menstruating controls, 11 normal-weight women with PCOS and 11 normal-weight controls to determine genomic and nongenomic estrogen receptor and androgen receptor function in the endometrium among women with PCOS before and after an individualized dietary and exercise program.
Primary outcomes were mRNA levels and immunostaining of estrogen receptor-alpha, estrogen receptor-beta, nongenomic estrogen receptor-alpha 36, and G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 and the androgen receptor on days 6 to 8 and 21 to 23 of the menstrual cycle.
Compared with controls, women with PCOS and obesity had lower mRNA levels of estrogen receptor-alpha, nongenomic estrogen receptor-alpha 36 and the estrogen-alpha/estrogen-beta mRNA ratio in the proliferative endometrium before intervention.
Participants with PCOS who experienced improved menstrual function had higher estrogen receptor-alpha and estrogen receptor-alpha/estrogen receptor-beta protein ratio in the proliferative endometrium compared with those without improvement after intervention (P < .05).
“We propose that this change implies enhanced estrogen receptor action and thereby improved endometrial function in women with PCOS,” the researchers wrote.
Participants with PCOS who had restored ovulation had higher protein levels of G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 in the secretory endometrium (P < .01). Higher protein levels of estrogen receptor-alpha, G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 and androgen receptor on cycle days 21 to 23 were found among women with PCOS who remained anovulatory compared with controls (P < .05).
“It is possible that proliferative abnormalities that are present in the endometrium of PCOS women can be due to [G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1]. ... However, the negative correlation between [androgen receptor] and endometrial thickness may indicate that androgens have a role in endometrial dysfunction and poor reproductive outcome in women with PCOS,” the researchers wrote. – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.