title: Is pharmacogenomics our future? Metformin, ovulation and polymorphism of the STK11 gene in polycystic ovary syndrome.
abstract: Evaluation of: Legro RS, Barnhart HX, Schlaff WD et al.: Ovulatory response to treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome is associated with a polymorphism in the STK11 gene. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 93(3), 792-800 (2008). The current study by Legro et al. is a substudy of the recent multicenter, double-blinded, prospective study Pregnancy in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Legro et al. randomly assigned 626 infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome to receive 50 mg clomiphene citrate plus placebo (n = 209), 2 g extended-release metformin plus placebo (n = 208), or a combination of metformin and clomiphene (n = 209) for up to six cycles. Of 626 patients in the original study, 312 women participated in the pharmacogenetic substudy; 98 received metformin XR (2 g/day), 102 clomiphene and 112 combined clomiphene-metformin XR treatment. This study was designed "to identify predictive genetic polymorphism and other determinants of ovulatory response" in prospective fashion. Candidate genes tested included estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1), CYP genes (CYP2C9 and CYP2D6) and STK11. STK11, formerly known as LKB1, is a serine-threonine kinase gene expressed in the liver, which phosphorylates and activates AMP-activated protein kinase. It was shown to be a site of metformin action. The C allele of a SNP in the STK11 gene was associated with a significantly decreased chance of ovulation in polycystic ovary syndrome women treated with metformin. In analysis of ovulation per cycle, the adjusted odds ratio for CC versus GG (wild-type normal) was 0.30 (95% CI: 0.14-0.66) and the odds ratio for CG versus GG was 0.30 (95% CI: 0.14-0.66). This elegant study is of great importance because despite treatment, many women with polycystic ovary syndrome fail to ovulate, 24.9% in the clomiphene group, 44.7% in the metformin group and 16.7% in the clomiphene-metformin group.
authors.affiliation: Cholesterol Center, Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati, ABC Builiding, 3200 Burnet Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA.
authors.forename: Naila
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Goldenberg
authors.forename: Charles J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Glueck
mesh_terms: D000091162:AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008687:Metformin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic / Q000639:trends; D010060:Ovulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D010597:Pharmacogenetics / Q000639:trends*; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D008687:Metformin; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C109790:STK11 protein, human; D000091162:AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases