title: Serum anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels correlate with infrarenal aortic diameter in healthy older men: is AMH a cardiovascular hormone?
abstract: Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a gonadal hormone present in the blood in men and pre-menopausal women. AMH regulates male sexual differentiation but has no putative function in adulthood. In recent studies, high AMH levels are associated with absence of cardiovascular disease in men and smaller atherosclerotic burden in monkeys. Mechanistically, AMH has downstream convergence with known regulators of the cardiovascular system, while the specific receptor for AMH is present in murine aorta and the human heart. Our primary objective was to examine whether AMH levels in healthy men correlated with the physical characteristics of their aorta. Our secondary aim was to document whether men with distinct vascular disorders expressed different levels of AMH. Serum AMH assayed by ELISA in 153 men (54-93 years) free from vascular disease inversely correlated with the ultrasonographic diameters of the distal- (r=-0.22, P=0.006) and mid-infrarenal aorta (r=-0.26, P=0.008). This association was similar in magnitude but opposite to that of body surface area (largest known determinant of aortic diameter) and independent of known cardiovascular risk factors. This relationship is specific to AMH, as inhibin B, a Sertoli cell hormone-like AMH, did not correlate with aortic diameter (r=-0.04, P=0.66) despite partially correlating with AMH. Among men with known vascular disease, higher AMH levels were associated with varicose vein disease, while men with higher levels of AMH were under-represented in the abdominal aortic aneurysm relative to the healthy cohort. These findings identify AMH as a novel putative regulator of the cardiovascular system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Otago School of Medical Sciences, Brain Health Research Centre Department of Surgery, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Lindo Ferguson Building, Great King Street, PO Box 913, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Nicola A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Dennis
authors.forename: Gregory T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Yih Harng
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: Andre M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: van Rij
authors.forename: Ian S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: McLennan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D054304:Anti-Mullerian Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014648:Varicose Veins / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D054304:Anti-Mullerian Hormone
keywords: cardiovascular; hormone action; menopause; testis