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Serum fibrinogen-like protein 1 as a novel biomarker in polycystic ovary syndrome: a case–control study

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Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the relationship between fibrinogen-like protein 1 (FGL-1) concentrations and various metabolic characteristics in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and explore whether FGL-1 could be a predictive biomarker for PCOS.

Methods

This case–control study included 136 patients with PCOS and 34 normal controls recruited in the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital between May 2017 and June 2021. Anthropometric characteristics, metabolic parameters, and reproductive hormones were collected. Serum FGL-1 measurement was conducted using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits.

Results

Serum FGL-1 concentrations were higher in patients with PCOS than in control subjects in body mass index (BMI) subgroups, insulin resistance (IR) subgroups, and hepatic function subgroups, respectively. Serum FGL-1 concentrations were significantly associated with BMI, glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), and serum uric acid (SUA) in all individuals. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that the best cutoff value for FGL-1 levels to predict PCOS was 21.02 ng/ml with a sensitivity of 74.3% and a specificity of 70.6%. Both univariate and multiple logistic regressions indicated that the odds ratio (OR) for PCOS significantly increased in the subjects with high levels of FGL-1.

Conclusion

In our study, FGL-1 was associated with serum aminotransferase and various metabolic indexes. Moreover, the high risk of PCOS was independently associated with the increased FGL-1 levels, which suggested that FGL-1 could be a predictive biomarker for PCOS.

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Data availability statement

All data generated or analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding authors on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This study would not have been possible without the participation of the patients.

Funding

No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Y. Zhang, D. Dilimulati, and D. Chen have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 301 Middle Yanchang Road, Shanghai, 200072, China

    Y. Zhang, D. Dilimulati, M. Cai, H. You, H. Sun, M. Zhang & S. Qu

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 301 Middle Yanchang Road, Shanghai, 200072, China

    X. Gao & X. Shao

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 301 Middle Yanchang Road, Shanghai, 200072, China

    D. Chen

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  1. Y. Zhang
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  4. M. Cai
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  9. M. Zhang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. YZ, DD, and DC: collected the data, performed ELISA experiments, performed the statistical analysis, and interpreted the data. MC, HY, HS, and XG: prepared material and participated in recruiting subjects. XS and MZ: designed and wrote the manuscript. SQ: edited the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to X. Shao or M. Zhang.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in our study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital (approval number SHSY-IEC-4.1/21-227/01).

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Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

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Zhang, Y., Dilimulati, D., Chen, D. et al. Serum fibrinogen-like protein 1 as a novel biomarker in polycystic ovary syndrome: a case–control study. J Endocrinol Invest 45, 2123–2130 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-022-01844-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-022-01844-0

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