Increased circulating urocortin-3 levels is associated with polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract

This study was aimed to compare serum urocortin-3 (UCN3) levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and healthy women, and establish what role UCN3 levels play in PCOS. Fifty-two patients with PCOS and 55 healthy women were included in the study, matched for age and body mass index. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin, hs-CRP, UCN3 and free-testosterone levels of the all participants were measured. HOMA-IR was used to calculate the insulin resistance. Circulating UCN3 levels were significantly increased in women with PCOS than in control subjects (54.49 ± 5.77 versus 51.28 ± 5.86 pmol/l, p = 0.005). Serum insulin, hs-CRP and HOMA-IR levels were higher in women with PCOS than in control group. UCN3 levels positively correlated with hs-CRP in PCOS group (r = 0.391, p = 0.004). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curves were 0.732 (95% CI 0.634–0.830, p < 0.001) for UCN3 levels. The optimal cut-off value of UCN3 for detecting PCOS was ≥51.46 pmol/l, at which the sensitivity was 75% and specificity was 68%. Our results suggest that there is a potential link between PCOS and UCN3 levels. The results of this study support the presence of increased UCN3 levels for the association of inflammation with PCOS.

Chinese abstract

本研究旨在比较多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS）患者和正常女性的血清尿皮质激素-3（UCN3）水平，明确UCN3在PCOS中的作用。52名PCOS患者和55名健康女性参与本研究，并根据年龄和体质指数（BMI）配对。所有患者均监测空腹血糖（FBG）、胰岛素、hs-CRP、UCN3和游离睾酮。采用HOMA-IR计算胰岛素抵抗。PCOS女性循环中的UCN3水平显著高于对照组（54.49 ± 5.77 vs. 51.28 ± 5.86 pmol/l, p=0.005）。PCOS组血清胰岛素、hs-CRP和HOMA-IR水平比对照组高。PCOS组中UCN3水平与hs-CRP呈正相关（r=0.391, p=0.004）。受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析显示ROC曲线下面积为0.732（95% CI 0.634–0.830, p＜0.001），采用UCN3检测PCOS的最佳cut-off值≥51.46 pmol/l，敏感度75%和特异度68%。我们的结果显示了PCOS和UCN3水平有潜在的联系。本研究结果提示UCN3水平增加与PCOS炎症有关联。

• hs-CRP
• insulin
• PCOS
• urocortin-3

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Taylan Yılmaz for his help with statistical calculations.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest. This study was supported by M.T.