Phoenixin-14 concentrations are increased in association with luteinizing hormone and nesfatin-1 concentrations in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is commonly characterized by obesity, insulin resistance (IR), hyperandrogenemia and hirsutism. Following the reported relationship between phoenixin-14 and gonadotropin production in rat hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, the present study was designed to investigate the circulating concentrations of phoenixin-14 and their associations with the concentrations of sex hormones including luteinizing hormone (LH), follicular stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol (E2), progesterone (P4) and total testosterone (TT) in PCOS patients. METHODS: A total of 41 women with diagnosed PCOS using Rotterdam criteria and 37 healthy individuals were enrolled in the study. RESULTS: Serum phoenixin-14 concentration in PCOS patients (n=41) was 0.515±0.044ng/ml, significantly higher than that in healthy controls (0.289±0.046ng/ml, n=37). PCOS patients had higher serum LH, dehydroepiandrosterone and fasting blood glucose concentrations, and higher index of homeostasis model of assessment-IR than those in healthy women. Correlation analysis showed significantly positive correlations of phoenixin-14 with LH, FSH, TT, P4, BMI and nesfatin-1 concentrations, and significantly negative correlations with E2 and serum insulin (FSI) concentrations, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to control women, PCOS patients had significantly increased serum phoenixin-14, LH and androgen concentrations. The positive correlations of phoenixin-14 concentrations with LH and TT concentrations suggest a possible role of phoenixin-14 in the development of PCOS.

High Leptin Level Attenuates Embryo Development in Overweight/Obese Infertile Women by Inhibiting Proliferation and Promotes Apoptosis in Granule Cell.

Obesity appears to be associated with female reproductive dysfunction and infertility. Women with obesity undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) had poor oocyte quality, decreased embryo development, and poor pregnancy outcome. However, the mechanism linking obesity to poor reproductive outcomes is still unclear. Obesity is frequently accompanied with elevated leptin levels. Here we aimed to evaluate the effect of high leptin level in follicular fluid (FF) on the proliferation and apoptosis in granule cells and correlate these findings with poor reproductive outcomes in infertile women with overweight or obesity who underwent IVF treatment. We investigated clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates in 189 infertile women who underwent IVF. Leptin levels were quantified in peripheral blood and FF as well. In vitro cell model was used to explore the potential effect of high leptin on the proliferation and apoptosis in granulosa cells. Results showed reduced clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates in overweight/obesity women who underwent IVF compared to control with normal BMI. On the other hand, leptin levels presented significant increase in peripheral blood and FF in overweight/obese women. Leptin level in FF was negatively correlated to good quality embryo rate. Importantly, in vitro study showed that leptin inhibited cells proliferation and promoted apoptosis by upregulation of caspase-3 and downregulation of Bcl-2 in granulosa cells in a dose dependent manner. These observations suggest that leptin may acts as a local mediator to attenuate embryo development and reduce fertility in obese patients.