The Association of STR markers on 19p13.2 region and polycystic ovarian syndrome susceptibility in Iranian population

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine complex and heterogeneous disorders in women. In this case-control study, we investigated the association of 9 short tandem repeats (STRs) located on 19p13.2 and susceptibility of PCOS. This study consisted of 66 women with PCOS as the case group as well as 44 age and ethnically matched healthy women as control groups from Qom province, Iran. The genomic DNA was extracted using a salting-out method from peripheral blood leukocytes. Genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction and electrophoresed on the polyacrylamide gel. Some samples with the same size bands on polyacrylamide gel were directly sequenced to confirm repeat numbers. The obtained results indicated that the target STRs are significantly different between patients and healthy controls. However, 19-CA repeat in D19S865 STR was identified as the only disease allele. Clinical analysis indicated that the levels of the anti-mullerian hormone, fasting blood sugar, and body mass index in the case group were significantly more than healthy controls. In conclusion, our study indicated that susceptibility to PCOS is associated with STRs on chromosome 19p13.2. A study with more sample size is needed to clear up this association in the Iranian population. However, more studies on different races and geographic areas are required to determine the exact role of these STRs in the susceptibility of PCOS.