Thursday 25 October 2007
Insulin gene variant linked to PCOS features
Source:
Fertility and Sterility 2007; Advanced online publication
Researchers explore whether the insulin-degrading enzyme gene polymorphism affects clinical and metabolic features in Chinese women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
MedWire News: Chinese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are more likely to develop metabolic features if they carry the C allele of the rs2209972 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) gene, report investigators.
Kehua Wang (Shandong University, Jinan, China) and team explain that the IDE gene is a "candidate gene" for insulin resistance (IR), and is also considered a clinical marker for PCOS women.
The researchers tested the genetic frequency and distribution of four IDE single nucleotide polymorphisms-rs2209972, rs4646953, rs1887922, and rs1544210-in 315 women with PCOS and 327 healthy women living in China. They also assessed body mass index (BMI) and 12-hour fasting insulin levels.
The frequency of the C allele of rs2209972 was significantly higher in the PCOS group than in the control group. Also, women carrying the rs2209972 CT genotype were significantly more likely to have a higher BMI and elevated insulin levels than women carrying the TT genotype.
Conversely, the genotypes of all four SNPs were similar between patients and controls, suggesting that the IDE gene should not be considered a candidate gene for women with PCOS.
"On the available evidence we conclude that at least one variant in the IDE gene confers susceptibility to IR of PCOS," Wang and team comment.
Posted: 24 October 2007
(c) 2007 Current Medicine Group Ltd, a part of Springer Science+Business Media
http://www.orgyn.com/en/news/2007/We...47393801390625
Insulin gene variant linked to PCOS features 
