Lipocalin-2 Level in Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Association with Insulin Resistance and Metformin Therapy

Abstract

COS appears to be associated with an increased risk of metabolic aberrations, including insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular disease throughout womens’ lifespan. Obesity is a state of chronic low-grade systemic inflammation. This chronic inflammation is characterized by abnormal cytokine production and activation of inflammatory signaling pathways in adipose tissues, which contributes to insulin resistance and its related diseases such as PCOS and metabolic syndrome. Lipocalin-2 is abundantly produced from adipocytes. The expression and secretion of this protein increases sharply after conversion of preadipocytes to mature adipocytes. Its expression can be induced by various inflammatory stimuli, including lipopolysaccharide and IL-1β. This evidence suggests that Lipocalin-2 may participate in inflammation-related disorders. Lipocalin-2, is associated with obesity, obesity-related inflammatory processes and insulin resistance. Our study was aiming to evaluate Lipocalin-2 level in a sample of Egyptian females with PCOS and study the effect of metformin therapy on Lipocalin-2 level in patients with PCOS. This case control study was conducted on 52 females, collected from the outpatient obstetrics and gynaecology clinics