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Fractalkine: an inflammatory chemokine elevated in subjects with polycystic ovary syndrome

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Abstract

Purpose

Fractalkine (FKN) is an inflammatory chemokine related to reproductive system and glucose metabolism. There is a link between FKN and steroidogenesis as FKN induces progesterone synthesis. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common reproductive and metabolic disorder associated with low progesterone production and insulin resistance. We aimed to explore whether women with PCOS have any difference in FKN levels compared to women without PCOS. We also focused on determination of any association between FKN levels and hormonal-metabolic parameters in women with PCOS.

Methods

The current research was designed as a case–control study. Eighty subjects with PCOS and 80 age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched subjects with normal menstrual cycle were taken into the study. We measured circulating FKN levels via ELISA methods.

Results

Circulating FKN levels were higher in women with PCOS than controls (1.93 ± 0.61 vs. 1.22 ± 0.33 ng/ml, P< 0.001). FKN levels showed a positive correlation with body mass index (BMI), insulin resistance, inflammatory marker hs-CRP, total testosterone, and free-androgen index (FAI), whereas it showed a negative correlation with sex hormone-binding protein in women with PCOS. Linear regression analyses revealed that the link of FKN with BMI, insulin resistance, hs-CRP, and FAI was independent. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of having PCOS was associated with high levels of FKN.

Conclusions

Increased FKN levels related to insulin resistance, inflammation and androgens in women with PCOS. FKN may have an inter-related role in different pathophysiologic pathways of PCOS.

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Abbreviations

BMI :

Body mass index

CI :

Confidence interval

CV :

Coefficient of variability

DBP :

Diastolic blood pressure

DHEA-S :

Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate

FAI :

Free-androgen index

FBG :

Fasting blood glucose

FG :

Ferriman–Gallwey

FKN :

Fractalkine

GDM :

Gestational diabetes mellitus

GnRH :

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone

HDL-C :

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol

HOMA-IR :

Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance

hs-CRP :

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein

KO :

Knockout

LDL-C :

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol

OR :

Odds ratio

PCOS :

Polycystic ovary syndrome

ROC :

Receiver operator characteristic

SBP :

Systolic blood pressure

SHBP :

Sex hormone-binding protein

T2DM :

Type 2 diabetes mellitus

VIF :

Variance inflation factor

WT :

Wild type

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Izmir Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital, 35170, Bozyaka, Izmir, Turkey

    İsmail Demi̇r

  2. Department of Family Physician, Izmir Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital, 35170, Bozyaka, Izmir, Turkey

    Aslı Guler, Ahmet Murat Isil & Ozge Ucman

  3. Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Izmir Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital, 35170, Bozyaka, Izmir, Turkey

    Pınar Alarslan & Mehmet Calan

  4. Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ege University, 35100, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey

    Behnaz Aslanipour

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  1. İsmail Demi̇r
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Contributions

M.C., I.D., A.G., P.A., A.M.I., and O.U. participated in study design and B.A. and M.C. performed ELISA. M.C., I.D., A.G., P.A., A.M.I., and B.A. participated in study design, analyzed the data, wrote, reviewed, and edited the manuscript. M.C., I.D., A.G., O.U., and P.A. provided serum samples and contributed to discussions of data interpretation. All authors reviewed and edited the manuscript. M.C. is the guarantor of this work and, as such, had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mehmet Calan.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

Our study was approved by ethics committee of Bozyaka Training and Research Hospital. The written informed approval was received from each recruited subject. All the subjects were joined to the research adjusting with the principles of Declaration of Helsinki (revised in 2008).

Informed consent

The subjects gave their oral and written informed consent before their inclusion in the study. The study adhered strictly to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki as revised in 2008.

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Demi̇r, İ., Guler, A., Alarslan, P. et al. Fractalkine: an inflammatory chemokine elevated in subjects with polycystic ovary syndrome. Endocrine 65, 175–183 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-019-01972-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-019-01972-3

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