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Updated: Jun 24, 2026

A Modified Technique for Inducing Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Mice
Published on: July 5, 2024
CYP19 gene: a genetic modifier of polycystic ovary syndrome phenotype
Nectaria Xita1, Leandros Lazaros, Ioannis Georgiou
1Department of Endocrinology, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
Objective:
To evaluate the possible contribution of the (TTTA)n polymorphism of aromatase gene (CYP19) to the hyperandrogenic phenotype of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Design:
Case-control study.
Setting:
Endocrine outpatients' clinic of a tertiary university hospital.
Patient(S):
One hundred eighty women with PCOS and 160 healthy controls of reproductive age.
Intervention(S):
Blood sampling for genotype analysis, and measurement of androgens, E(2), LH, FSH, and fasting glucose and insulin.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Frequency of the CYP19(TTTA)n polymorphism and association with hormone concentrations.
Result(S):
Women with PCOS tended to have more frequently short (TTTA)n alleles (with nine or fewer repeats) than healthy controls (33.1% vs. 29.5%), although the difference was not statistically significant. However, patients in the highest quartile for serum T were more frequently homozygous for short alleles compared with controls (59.1% vs. 42.1%) and patients in lower quartiles (59.1% vs. 36.9%). Furthermore, the patients homozygous for short alleles had higher T/E(2) ratios, higher T levels, and higher LH/FSH ratios compared with those with longer alleles.
Conclusion(S):
Although CYP19 may not be a major genetic determinant of PCOS, it may act as a genetic modifier of the hyperandrogenic phenotype of PCOS. The presence of short CYP19(TTTA)n alleles may contribute to prenatal androgenization programming the development of PCOS phenotype in adult life.
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