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Horm Metab Res 2021; 53(08): 504-511
DOI: 10.1055/a-1499-7718
Endocrine Care

Anti-Müllerian Hormone Accelerates Pathological Process of Insulin Resistance in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Patients

Xiang-Juan Li‡
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hangzhou Women's Hospital, Hangzhou, China
,
Hui Wang‡
2   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Songjiang District, Shanghai, China
,
Dan-Yang Lu
3   Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
,
Tian-Tian Yu
3   Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
,
Kamran Ullah
4   Department of Biological Sciences (Zoology), University of Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
,
Xin-Yan Shi
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hangzhou Women's Hospital, Hangzhou, China
,
Yong-Hai Shen
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hangzhou Women's Hospital, Hangzhou, China
,
Xiao-Yang Fei
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hangzhou Women's Hospital, Hangzhou, China
,
Zhen-Yun Lin
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hangzhou Women's Hospital, Hangzhou, China
,
He-Feng Huang
3   Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
5   The Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics, Ministry of Education (Zhejiang University), Hangzhou, China.
,
Xian-Hua Lin
5   The Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics, Ministry of Education (Zhejiang University), Hangzhou, China.
› Author Affiliations Funding Information This study was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2018YFC1005001), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82071730) and Research Grant from Shanghai Hospital Development Center (No. SHDC12019X17).
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Abstract

Insulin resistance (IR) is one of the most common features of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which is related to obesity. Whether increased anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels in PCOS are involved in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance remains unclear. We investigated serum levels of leptin and AMH along with basic clinical and metabolic parameters in 114 PCOS patients and 181 non-PCOS women. PCOS patients presented higher fasting blood glucose, insulin concentrations and Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) in addition to body mass index (BMI), lipids profiles and hormone levels. HOMA-IR showed a positive correlation with BMI, AMH, leptin, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c) levels. Interestingly, AMH is strongly positively correlated with HOMA-IR and insulin concentrations for 1st and 2nd hours of glucose treatment after fasting. Among PCOS women with BMI≥25 kg/m2, high AMH level group showed an increased HOMA-IR when compared to normal AMH level. However, among PCOS women with normal BMI, women with high AMH presented an elevated fasting insulin levels but not HOMA-IR when compared to normal AMH group. In vitro treatment of isolated islet cells with high concentration of leptin (200 ng/ml) or high leptin plus high concentration of AMH (1 ng/ml) significantly enhanced insulin secretion. Importantly, co-treatment of AMH plus leptin upregulates the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins, such as Bax, caspase-3, and caspase-8 after incubating with a high level of glucose. These results suggest that AMH may involve in the pathological process of pancreatic β-cells in obese PCOS women.

Key words

anti-Mullerian hormone - insulin resistance - apoptosis - pancreatic islet cells

Supplementary Material



Publication History

Received: 05 February 2021

Accepted after revision: 26 April 2021

Article published online:
12 August 2021

© 2021. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Georg Thieme Verlag
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

 

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