Molecular profiling of polycystic ovaries for markers of cell invasion and matrix turnover

Abstract

To study gene expression profiles of connective tissue components in polycystic ovaries using complementary deoxyribonucleic acid (cDNA) array technology. Descriptive study of normal and polycystic human ovarian biopsy samples analyzed by cDNA array hybridizations. Experimental laboratory research. Eight women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and two normally cycling women treated with electrocauterization and hysterectomy, respectively. Ovarian biopsy samples. Expression levels of 588 genes involved in cellular invasion, extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover, and cell-ECM interactions in polycystic ovaries. A majority of the 30 genes down-regulated in PCOS ovaries represented those related to cell adhesion and motility, as well as angiogenesis, followed by regulators of cell cycle and growth. The 14 up-regulated genes represented those regulating cell fate and development, growth factors, cytokines, chemokines, and cell-cell interactions. Of the 44 transcripts exhibiting marked changes in the cDNA array analysis, only one - proliferating cell nuclear antigen messenger ribonucleic acid (PCNA mRNA) - was systematically down-regulated; 2 transcripts, for CDC27HS protein and CD9 antigen, were down-regulated in 7 out of 8 PCOS samples. The present data suggest that gene expression profiling may become a useful tool to classify PCOS patients into subgroups with different etiologies. Genome-wide expression profiling using microarrays should be performed to better understand the metabolic derangement(s) in PCOS.