Title: Genome-wide association of polycystic ovary syndrome implicates alterations in gonadotropin secretion in European ancestry populations.

Authors: Hayes, M Geoffrey; Urbanek, Margrit; Ehrmann, David A; Armstrong, Loren L; Lee, Ji Young; Sisk, Ryan; Karaderi, Tugce; Barber, Thomas M; McCarthy, Mark I; Franks, Stephen; Lindgren, Cecilia M; Welt, Corrine K; Diamanti-Kandarakis, Evanthia; Panidis, Dimitrios; Goodarzi, Mark O; Azziz, Ricardo; Zhang, Yi; James, Roland G; Olivier, Michael; Kissebah, Ahmed H; Reproductive Medicine Network; Stener-Victorin, Elisabet; Legro, Richard S; Dunaif, Andrea

Published In Nat Commun, (2015 Aug 18)

Abstract: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common, highly heritable complex disorder of unknown aetiology characterized by hyperandrogenism, chronic anovulation and defects in glucose homeostasis. Increased luteinizing hormone relative to follicle-stimulating hormone secretion, insulin resistance and developmental exposure to androgens are hypothesized to play a causal role in PCOS. Here we map common genetic susceptibility loci in European ancestry women for the National Institutes of Health PCOS phenotype, which confers the highest risk for metabolic morbidities, as well as reproductive hormone levels. Three loci reach genome-wide significance in the case-control meta-analysis, two novel loci mapping to chr 8p23.1 [Corrected] and chr 11p14.1, and a chr 9q22.32 locus previously found in Chinese PCOS. The same chr 11p14.1 SNP, rs11031006, in the region of the follicle-stimulating hormone B polypeptide (FSHB) gene strongly associates with PCOS diagnosis and luteinizing hormone levels. These findings implicate neuroendocrine changes in disease pathogenesis.

PubMed ID: 26284813

MeSH Terms: Adolescent; Adult; Case-Control Studies; Female; Gene Expression Regulation; Genome-Wide Association Study*; Humans; Middle Aged; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome/genetics*; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Quantitative Trait Loci; Whites/genetics*; Young Adult