Autophagy of ovarian granulosa cells in polycystic ovary syndrome

Objective To investigate autophagy in granulosa cells and its related factors in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods Follicular fluid (FF) and ovarian granulosa cells from PCOS and non-PCOS patients who underwent in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) were collected, and sex hormones in FF and the expression of autophagy-related genes in granulosa cells were detected. Then, correlations between the expression of autophagy-related genes in granulosa cells with sex hormones and clinical outcomes were analyzed. Results The mRNA levels of autophagy-related genes BECN1 (2.13±0.94) and ATG7 (1.38±0.45) in granulosa cells of PCOS patients were significantly higher than that in non-PCOS patients (1.46±0.52, P=0.002; 1.16±0.29, P=0.026). Concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH) [(5.32± 4.14) IU/L], estradiol (E2) [(990.36±390.53) mg/L], testosterone (T) [(53.18±28.36) nmol/L] in FF of PCOS patients were also higher than those of non-PCOS patients [(2.38±1.34) IU/L, P=0.001; (715.61±325.18) mg/L, P=0.007; (24.44±15.12) nmol/L, P=0.000]. Concentration of progesterone (P4) [(12.81±6.78) mg/L] in FF of PCOS patients was lower than that of non-PCOS patients [(17.77±9.60) mg/L, P=0.036]. BECN1 mRNA abundance in granulosa cells and testosterone levels in serum (r=0.490, P=0.000) and FF (r=0.329, P=0.031), serum anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) (r=0.337, P=0.018) showed significantly positive correlations. Conclusion The activation of autophagy in granulosa cells in PCOS patients may be an important mechanism for the development of PCOS. Key words: Autophagy; Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH); Androgen; Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)