Human Reproduction, Vol. 16, No. 4, 668-672,
April 2001
© 2001 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Circulating follistatin concentrations are higher and activin concentrations are lower in polycystic ovarian syndrome
1 Reproductive Medicine Unit, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, University of Adelaide, 28 Woodville Road, Woodville, South Australia 5011, Australia, 2 Oxford School of Biological and Molecular Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK and 3 Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research, PO Box 5152, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia
Familial polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) has been proposed to be linked to a site near the follistatin gene. We studied the concentrations of circulating follistatin, activin A and inhibin B in well-characterized subjects with PCOS (n = 108) and controls without PCOS (n = 20). Mean (± SEM) concentrations of follistatin were higher (P < 0.05) in PCOS (0.27 ± 0.03 ng/ml) than controls (0.15 ± 0.02 ng/ml) and activin A were lower (P < 0.05) in PCOS (0.20 ± 0.01ng/ml) than controls (0.24 ± 0.02 ng/ml). Inhibin B concentrations were not different between the two groups: PCOS (0.06 ± 0.01ng/ml), and controls (0.06 ± 0.01ng/ml). It is proposed that higher concentrations of follistatin with lower concentrations of activin A may relate to follicular development not proceeding beyond 8–10 mm and may be partly responsible for the lack of pre-ovular follicle development in PCOS.
Key words: activin/follistatin/inhibin/PCOS
4 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Reproductive Medicine Unit, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, University of Adelaide, 28 Woodville Road, Woodville, South Australia 5011, Australia. E-mail: robert.norman{at}adelaide.edu.au
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