Elsevier

Fertility and Sterility

Volume 85, Issue 4, April 2006, Pages 1017-1026
Fertility and Sterility

Polycystic ovary syndrome
Evaluation of steroid receptors, coregulators, and molecules associated with uterine receptivity in secretory endometria from untreated women with polycystic ovary syndrome

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2005.09.053Get rights and content
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Objective

To evaluate gene and protein expression of steroid receptors, nuclear receptor coregulators, and uterine receptivity markers in midsecretory phase endometria from untreated women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Design

Case-control study.

Setting

Hospital research unit.

Patient(s)

Eight patients with PCOS and eight fertile women of similar age to those with PCOS.

Intervention(s)

Endometrial samples were obtained from women with PCOS (PCOSE) and normal (NE) women during the midsecretory phase of the menstrual cycle.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Expression studies (immunohistochemistry, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR] and Western blot).

Result(s)

Endometria from PCOS exhibit higher levels of messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein for estrogen receptor α and coactivators than NE. Epithelial cells had a greater expression of progesterone receptor in PCOSE, whereas, no differences were observed in gene and protein expression of the nuclear corepressor (NcoR) and the antiadhesion molecule mucin type-1 (MUC-1) between PCOSE and NE. Immunodetection for the coactivator ARA70 was higher in PCOSE than in NE; in contrast, expression of β3-integrin in epithelia was lower in PCOSE than in control endometria.

Conclusion(s)

The higher response to steroid hormones of endometria from untreated PCOS-women induces diminished expression of β3 integrin, which partially explain implantation failure in PCOS patients.

Key Words

Polycystic ovary syndrome
endometrium
steroid receptors
coregulators
receptivity markers

Cited by (0)

Financial support provided by Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT) Grants 1010821 and 1050098, Santiago, Chile.