Fatty Acids in Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue of Pregnant Women with and without Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Are Associated with Genes Related to Steroidogenesis: A Case-Control Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Endocrinology and Female Infertility, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

3 Breast Disease Research Center (BDRC), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

4 Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Arash Women’s Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

5 Department of Animal and Poultry Science, College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

6 Reproductive Epidemiology Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

7 Department of Genetics, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

8 Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

9 Department of Embryology, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

10 Gyn-medicum, Center for Reproductive Medicine, GÖttingen, Germany

Abstract

Background: The qualitative analysis of adipose tissue (AT) is an exciting area for research and clinical applications in several diseases and it is emerging along with the quantitative approach to research on overweight and obese people. While the importance of steroid metabolism in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been reported, limited data exists on the effective roles of AT in pregnant women suffering from PCOS. The aim of this study was to determine association of fatty acid (FA) profiles with expression of 14 steroid genes in abdominal subcutaneous AT of PCOS vs. non-PCOS pregnant women.
Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, the AT samples of 36 non-PCOS pregnant women and 12 pregnant women with PCOS (3:1 ratio control: case) who underwent cesarean section were collected. Relationship of expressing gene targets and different features were performed using Pearson correlation analysis on the R 3.6.2 software. The ggplot2 package in R tool was used to draw the plots.
Results: Age (31.4 and 31.5 years, P=0.99), body mass index (BMI) (prior pregnancy 26 and 26.5 kg.m-2, P=0.62) and at delivery day (30.1 and 31, P=0.94), gestational period (264 and 267 days, P=0.70) and parity (1.4 and 1.4, P=0.42) of non-PCOS and PCOS pregnant women were similar. Expression of steroidogenic acute regulator (STAR) and 11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11BHSD2) in non-PCOS pregnant women showed the highest association with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5 n-3, r=0.59, P=0.001) and (r=0.66, P=0.001), respectively. In the all participants, STAR mRNA level showed the greatest association with the EPA fatty acid concentration (P=0.001, r=0.51).
Conclusion: Our results showed a link between the genes involved in steroid metabolism and fatty acids in AT of pregnant women, especially for omega-3 FA and the gene involved in the first step of steroidogenesis in subcutaneous AT. These findings warrant further studies.

Keywords

References

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International Journal of Fertility and Sterility
Volume 17, Issue 2
April 2023
Pages 127-132

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