Association of serum glypican-4 levels with cardiovascular risk predictors in women with polycystic ovary syndrome – a pilot study

Abstract

Objective: Glypican-4 (Gpc4) is an adipokine which interacts with the insulin receptor and affects insulin sensitivity in proteoglycans. Insulin resistance plays a crucial role in the etiology of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is associated with metabolic disturbances such as abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes. Thus, higher levels of Gpc4 released from visceral adipose tissue in women with PCOS may suggest an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Design: The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether the serum Gpc4 level is associated with cardiovascular risk predictors in women with PCOS.

Methods: Sixty-two women with PCOS according to the Rotterdam criteria (20–35 years old) and 43 healthy controls were studied. Cardiovascular risk predictors such as obesity indices, fat deposits according to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, biochemical lipid profile parameters and Homeostasis Model Assessment were estimated.

Results: The serum Gpc4 level in PCOS women was significantly higher (2.61 ± 1.17 ng/ml) than in the control group (1.55 ± 0.47 ng/ml) and correlated with waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, total fat and android fat deposit to gynoid fat deposit ratio only in the PCOS group.

Conclusion: The Gpc4 level was higher in the PCOS group and correlated with CVD risk predictors, especially fat distribution.

Chinese abstract

目的：磷脂酰肌醇蛋白聚糖-4（Gpc4）是一个与胰岛素受体相互作用的脂肪因子，影响蛋白聚糖的胰岛素敏感性。胰岛素抵抗在多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS）的病因学上起关键作用。PCOS与代谢紊乱如腹型肥胖，血脂异常和2型糖尿病等有关。因此，PCOS女性有更多的Gpc4从腹部脂肪组织中释放提示其心血管疾病（CVD）风险增加。

研究设计：本预实验旨在探讨PCOS患者血清Gpc4水平与心血管疾病风险因子有关。

方法：62名以鹿特丹标准诊断为PCOS的女性（20-35岁）和43名健康对照组参与了本实验。评估了心血管风险因素如肥胖指数、双能X线吸收计量法测定的脂肪沉积、生化检查中的脂代谢指标和稳态模型评估。

结果：PCOS组患者血清Gpc4水平（2.61 ± 1.17 ng/ml）显著高于对照组（1.55 ± 0.47 ng/ml），且与腰围、腰臀比、总脂肪和雄性脂肪/女性脂肪相关。

结论：PCOS组Gpc4水平较高，且与CVD风险因子（尤其是脂肪分布）相关。

• Cardiovascular risk predictors
• glypican-4
• polycystic ovary syndrome

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.