Han Wu,1,* Hui Wang,2,* Lixia Sun,3,* Mengchen Liu,1 Haoran Wang,1 Xianchang Sun,4 Wenjuan Zhang1 

1Center for Reproductive Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Taian, 271000, People’s Republic of China; 2Gynecological Minimally Invasive Surgery Center, The Affiliated Taian City Central Hospital of Qingdao University, Taian, 271000, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Hematology, The Affiliated Taian City Central Hospital of Qingdao University, Taian, 271000, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Physiology, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, 250117, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Wenjuan Zhang, Center for Reproductive Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, 366 Taishan Street, Taian, 271000, People’s Republic of China, Email wenjuanzhang1119@163.com Xianchang Sun, Department of Physiology, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 6699 Qingdao Road, Jinan, 250117, People’s Republic of China, Email hotsss@163.com

Purpose: To study the relationship between the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2278426 in the angiopoietin-like protein 8 gene (ANGPTL8) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Patients and methods: A total of 122 patients with PCOS and 108 controls were recruited for comparison of glucose, lipid, insulin, sex hormone, and ANGPTL8 levels. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gene sequencing were performed for comparison of the frequency of the CC, CT, and TT rs2278426 genotypes and the rs2278426 allele distributions between the PCOS and control groups and between the obese and non-obese subgroups of the PCOS and control groups.
Results: The frequency of the T allele was significantly higher in the PCOS group than that in the controls (P = 0.037). In the dominant genetic model, the proportion of the CT+TT genotype in the PCOS group was significantly higher than that in the controls (P = 0.047). Subgroup analysis demonstrated that the T allele proportion was significantly higher in obese PCOS group than obese control group (P = 0.027). PCOS with the CT+TT genotype had significantly higher body mass index (BMI; P = 0.001), triglyceride (TG; P = 0.005), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR; P = 0.035), testosterone (P = 0.041), and ANGPTL8 (P = 0.037) levels and significantly lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels (P = 0.025) than PCOS with the CC genotype. Obese PCOS group with the CT+TT genotype had significantly higher TG (P = 0.015), luteinizing hormone (LH; P = 0.030), fasting insulin (FINS; P = 0.039), HOMA-IR (P = 0.018), and ANGPTL8 (P = 0.049) levels than obese PCOS group with the CC genotype.
Conclusion: Polymorphisms of rs2278426 may induce glycolipid metabolic disorders by affecting ANGPTL8 levels and functions in Han Chinese females with obesity from the Shandong region, increasing the risk of PCOS in this population.

Keywords: angiopoietin-like protein 8, insulin resistance, metabolic disorder, obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome, single nucleotide polymorphism