Background: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) appears to be linked with hyperandrogenism (HA), increased insulin resistance (IR), and obesity (Ob), which were common features noted with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Our aim was to study the role of TNF-α in the pathogenesis of IR and Ob in PCOS, as well as a C850T (rs1799724) polymorphism in the promoter region of the TNF-α gene, in a group of 204 PCOS patients and 204 age-matched healthy controls.
Results: Significant differences were observed between PCOS patients and controls. All the PCOS had elevated body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, fasting insulin, homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) score, and serum TNF-α when compared with controls (p<0.05). Genotype distribution for the C-850T polymorphism was observed with the frequency of the variant T allele being 0% in the PCOS group and 9% in the control group (p=0.0032).
Conclusions: In conclusion, our present results suggest that the TNF-α system might contribute to the pathogenesis of HA, Ob, and IR in PCOS independent of a polymorphism of the TNF-α C850T (rs1799724) in our population.