title: Insulin-like factor 3 -- a new hormone related to polycystic ovary syndrome?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to find a correlation between insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3) and androgens: androstenedione (A), free testosterone (fT), and total testosterone (T), in two groups of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) women: those with a body mass index (BMI) lower than 25 kg/m(2) and those with a BMI higher than 25 kg/m(2). The association between INSL3 and other serum parameters: luteinising hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and glucose and insulin were also investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study group comprised 37 PCOS women aged 27 ± 4 years. The control group consisted of 34 healthy, premenopausal women (aged 24.2 ± 1.2) with regular menses and no signs of hyperandrogenism. There were 27 PCOS women of normal weight (BMI < 25 kg/m(2)), and ten overweight individuals (BMI ≥ 25-30 kg/m(2)). Correlations between level of INSL3 and LH, FSH, T, fT, A, DHEA-S, SHBG, metabolic tests, height, weight, and WHR (waist-to-hip ratio) were also investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PCOS women showed non-significantly higher levels of INSL3 compared to the healthy controls (64.6 ± 27.7 and 62.7 ± 20.0 ng/mL, respectively). However, we identified very strong correlations between INSL3 and androstenedione (r = 0.48, p = 0.0115), and free (r = 0.44, p = 0.0108) and total testosterone (r = 0.46, p = 0.0057) in the PCOS subgroup with a BMI of < 25 kg/m(2). There was no statistically significant correlation between INSL3 and LH in any subject of the PCOS group, nor between INSL3 and FSH, DHEA-S, glucose, basal insulin concentration or HOMA-IR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found a positive correlation between INSL3 and androgens in PCOS women, especially those with a BMI of < 25 kg/m(2). This may play a key role in PCOS pathophysiology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Diseases, Endocrinology and Diabetology, Radionuclide Therapy Ward, Central Clinical Hospital Ministry Interior and Administration, Warsaw, Poland. dszydlarska@op.pl
authors.forename: Dorota
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Szydlarska
authors.forename: Wiesław
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Grzesiuk
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Trybuch
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kondracka
authors.forename: Ilona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kowalik
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bar-Andziak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000735:Androstenedione / Q000097:blood; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood*; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000097:blood*; D011506:Proteins; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; C084797:Leydig insulin-like protein; D011506:Proteins; D013739:Testosterone; D000735:Androstenedione; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone