Proinsulin, adiponectin and hsCRP in reproductive age women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) — the effect of metformin treatment

Wstęp: Zespół policystycznych jajników (PCOS) często wiąże się ze współwystępowaniem otyłości i insulinooporności. Rola proinsuliny, której stężenie koreluje z płodnością w PCOS, oraz adiponektyny nie jest określona w patogenezie PCOS. Celem pracy było zbadanie stężeń proinsuliny, adiponektyny, hsCRP i innych hormonalnych i metabolicznych parametrów u kobiet z PCOS przed i po leczeniu metforminą.Materiał i metody: Porównano 2 grupy kobiet w wieku rozrodczym z PCOS (90 z prawidłową masą ciała i 88 z nadwagą lub otyłością) z 2 grupami kontrolnymi dobranymi pod względem wskaźnika masy ciała (BMI). Trzydzieści dwie kobiety z PCOS, u których wdrożono leczenie metforminą w dawce 1000 mg/d, były zbadane w warunkach podstawowych, po 3 oraz 6 miesiącach leczenia. Oceniano parametry kliniczne, antropometryczne, biochemiczne i hormonalne.Wyniki: Otyłe kobiety z PCOS charakteryzowały się najwyższymi stężeniami proinsuliny i hsCRP , które były statystycznie istotnie wyższe w porównaniu ze szczupłymi kobietami z PCOS (proinsulina: 11,4 v. 6,9 pmol/l; hsCRP 2,46 v. 0,47 mg/l, p < 0,01) i z otyłymi kobietami z grupy kontrolnej. Stężenia adiponektyny były zależne od BMI. Stosowanie metforminy spowodowało obniżenie stężeń proinsuliny i androstendionu tylko w grupie otyłych kobiet z PCOS.Wnioski: Zespół PCOS przebiegający z nadwagą lub otyłością wiąże się ze zwiększonym stężeniem proinsuliny, które koreluje z podwyższonym hsCRP i zwiększonym wskaźnikiem FAI. Stężenie proinsuliny ulega obniżeniu podczas leczenia metforminą. Uzyskane wyniki sugerują, że kobiety szczupłe i otyłe z PCOS charakteryzują się różnymi parametrami hormonalnymi i metabolicznymi oraz różną odpowiedzią na działanie metforminy. (Endokrynol Pol 2014; 65 (1): 2–10)Introduction: Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) often suffer from obesity and insulin resistance. The role of proinsulin, which is known to be an indicator of fertility outcomes in PCOS women, and that of adiponectin, in the pathogenesis of PCOS is not well elucidated. Our objective was to determine proinsulin, adiponectin, hsCRP and other hormonal and metabolic parameters in PCOS women before and after metformin treatment.Material and methods: Two PCOS groups of patients of reproductive age (90 lean and 88 obese or overweight) with two control groups, adjusted for body mass index (BMI), were compared at baseline. 32 PCOS women were studied at baseline, after three and six months of metformin (1,000 mg/day) treatment. Clinical, anthropometric, biochemical and hormonal parameters were assessed.Results: Proinsulin and hsCRP levels were the highest in obese PCOS women and were statistically different than in lean PCOS women (proinsulin: 11.4 v. 6.9 pmol/L; hsCRP 2.46 v. 0.47 mg/L, p < 0.01) and than in obese controls. Levels of adiponectin were dependant on BMI. Plasma proinsulin and androstenedione levels decreased after metformin treatment only in obese PCOS women.Conclusions: PCOS, when accompanied by obesity, is associated with elevated proinsulin concentrations, which correlates with higher hsCRP and increased FAI. Proinsulin level decreases due to metformin treatment. Our results suggest that obese or overweight PCOS and lean PCOS are characterised by different hormonal and metabolic parameters and have a different response to metformin treatment. (Endokrynol Pol 2014; 65 (1): 2–10)

Dziedzictwo kulturowe. Edukacja. Historia. Dziedzictwo regionalne. Muzyka, literatura, sztuka i media

The following publication showcases research on national heritage by early career researchers from Poland. Articles included are related to the broad domain of pedagogy, spanning over social sciences or arts and humanities. Contributions represent both historical and contemporary insights from a range of disciplines: education, history, area studies, art and media studies. Various examples of national heritage are discussed from both Polish and general perspective. The aim of the book was to contribute to the process of inclusion of new researchers into interdisciplinary and intergenerational dialogue

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) as a good predictor of time of menopause

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in women is secreted by granulosa cells in late preantral and small antral follicles. AMH seems to be a very stable marker having some advantages over other biochemical and biophysical markers and is very useful in the assessment of ovarian reserve. AMH measurement may be used in cases of premature ovarian failure, including iatrogenic, due to treatment for cancer, hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, and lastly, in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). It is also a very specific marker of ovarian tumors – folliculomas. According to outcomes of some studies, AMH seems to be highly predictive for the timing of menopause. There are mathematical models in which a single AMH measurement is used to predict the time of menopause even in very young women, many years before the last period

A sexually selected male weapon characterized by strong additive genetic variance and no evidence for sexually antagonistic polyphenic maintenance

Sexual selection and sexual antagonism are important drivers of eco-evolutionary processes. The evolution of traits shaped by these processes depends on their genetic architecture, which remains poorly studied. Here, implementing a quantitative genetics approach using diallel crosses of the bulb mite, Rhizoglyphus robini, we investigated the genetic variance that underlies a sexually selected weapon that is dimorphic among males and female fecundity. Previous studies indicated that a negative genetic correlation between these two traits likely exists. We found male morph showed considerable additive genetic variance, which is unlikely to be explained solely by mutation-selection balance, indicating the likely presence of large-effect loci. However, a significant magnitude of inbreeding depression also indicates that morph expression is likely to be condition-dependent to some degree and that deleterious recessives can simultaneously contribute to morph expression. Female fecundity also showed a high degree of inbreeding depression, but the variance in female fecundity was mostly explained by epistatic effects, with very little contribution from additive effects. We found no significant genetic correlation, nor any evidence for dominance reversal, between male morph and female fecundity. The complex genetic architecture underlying male morph and female fecundity in this system has important implications for our understanding of the evolutionary interplay between purifying selection and sexually antagonistic selection

Genomic evidence that a sexually selected trait captures genome-wide variation and facilitates the purging of genetic load

The evolution of costly traits such as deer antlers and peacock trains, which drove the formation of Darwinian sexual selection theory, has been suggested to both reflect and affect patterns of genetic variance across the genome, but direct tests are missing. Here, we used an evolve and resequence approach to reveal patterns of genome-wide diversity associated with the expression of a sexually selected weapon that is dimorphic among males of the bulb mite, Rhizoglyphus robini. Populations selected for the weapon showed reduced genome-wide diversity compared to populations selected against the weapon, particularly in terms of the number of segregating non-synonymous positions, indicating enhanced purifying selection. This increased purifying selection reduced inbreeding depression, but outbred female fitness did not improve, possibly because any benefits were offset by increased sexual antagonism. Most single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that consistently diverged in response to selection were initially rare and overrepresented in exons, and enriched in regions under balancing or relaxed selection, suggesting they are probably moderately deleterious variants. These diverged SNPs were scattered across the genome, further demonstrating that selection for or against the weapon and the associated changes to the mating system can both capture and influence genome-wide variation