Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on July 31, 2006
Human Reproduction 2006 21(12):3157-3161; doi:10.1093/humrep/del300
The PON1–108C/T polymorphism, and not the polycystic ovary syndrome, is an important determinant of reduced serum paraoxonase activity in premenopausal women
1 Department of Molecular Genetics 2 Department of Endocrinology, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid 28034, Spain
3 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Endocrinology & Universidad de Alcalá, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Carretera de Colmenar KM 9.1, Madrid E-28034, Spain. E-mail: hescobarm.hrc{at}salud.madrid.org
BACKGROUND: Because serum paraoxonase activity is influenced by the –108C/T polymorphism in the PON1 gene, we studied its involvement in the decreased paraoxonase activity recently described in the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). METHODS: Paraoxonase activity, PON1–108C/T genotypes and clinical, hormonal and biochemical variables were evaluated in a case–control study involving 139 consecutive PCOS patients and 85 healthy controls matched for BMI and prevalence of smoking. RESULTS: Women homozygous for –108T presented with reduced serum paraoxonase activity compared with carriers of C alleles (P < 0.001), both in PCOS patients and in controls. Although homozygosity for T alleles was more prevalent in PCOS patients than in controls (P = 0.003), serum paraoxonase activity was not significantly different in the PCOS and control groups. In a stepwise multivariate linear regression model, homozygosity for PON1–108T alleles was the only significant predictor of the logarithm of serum paraoxonase activity (
= –0.328, t = –4.176, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In premenopausal women from the Spanish population, the PON1–108C/T polymorphism, and not PCOS, is an important determinant of serum paraoxonase activity.
Key words: insulin resistance/molecular genetics/oxidative stress/polymorphism/premenopausal women