OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of a common polymorphism of the interleukin-6 gene (IL6) promoter with the occurence and the clinical characteristics of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). DESIGN: Prospective, case-control study. SETTING: Academic research institution. PATIENT(S): Sixty-two patients with PCOS and 94 healthy controls. INTERVENTION(S): Peripheral venous puncture, ultrasonography, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Genotype analysis with respect to the common -174 G/C polymorphism of the IL6 gene promoter, analysis of testosterone (T), androstendione, and sex hormone binding globulin serum levels, and evaluation of the OGTT. RESULT(S): Allele frequencies among women with PCOS and controls were 62.9% and 64.4%, respectively, for the wild-type G allele, and 37.1% and 35.6%, respectively, for the mutant C allele. We ascertained a significant association between presence of at least one mutant C allele and the clinical characteristics of affected women: these women were more likely to present with a body mass index >27 kg/m(2), elevated total T serum levels, and a pathological OGTT result. CONCLUSION(S): A common polymorphism of the IL6 promoter, although not associated with the presence of PCOS, is associated with the clinical characteristics of women affected by this condition.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of a common polymorphism of the interleukin-6 gene (IL6) promoter with the occurence and the clinical characteristics of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). DESIGN: Prospective, case-control study. SETTING: Academic research institution. PATIENT(S): Sixty-two patients with PCOS and 94 healthy controls. INTERVENTION(S): Peripheral venous puncture, ultrasonography, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Genotype analysis with respect to the common -174 G/C polymorphism of the IL6 gene promoter, analysis of testosterone (T), androstendione, and sex hormone binding globulin serum levels, and evaluation of the OGTT. RESULT(S): Allele frequencies among women with PCOS and controls were 62.9% and 64.4%, respectively, for the wild-type G allele, and 37.1% and 35.6%, respectively, for the mutant C allele. We ascertained a significant association between presence of at least one mutant C allele and the clinical characteristics of affected women: these women were more likely to present with a body mass index >27 kg/m(2), elevated total T serum levels, and a pathological OGTT result. CONCLUSION(S): A common polymorphism of the IL6 promoter, although not associated with the presence of PCOS, is associated with the clinical characteristics of women affected by this condition.
Authors: Cornelia Huth; Thomas Illig; Christian Herder; Christian Gieger; Harald Grallert; Caren Vollmert; Wolfgang Rathmann; Yasmin H Hamid; Oluf Pedersen; Torben Hansen; Barbara Thorand; Christa Meisinger; Angela Doring; Norman Klopp; Henning Gohlke; Wolfgang Lieb; Christian Hengstenberg; Valeriya Lyssenko; Leif Groop; Helen Ireland; Jeffrey W Stephens; Ingrid Wernstedt Asterholm; John-Olov Jansson; Heiner Boeing; Matthias Mohlig; Heather M Stringham; Michael Boehnke; Jaakko Tuomilehto; Jose-Manuel Fernandez-Real; Abel Lopez-Bermejo; Luis Gallart; Joan Vendrell; Steve E Humphries; Florian Kronenberg; H-Erich Wichmann; Iris M Heid Journal: Ann Med Date: 2009 Impact factor: 4.709