Association of acylation stimulating protein with endogenous sex hormones & lipid profile during menstrual cycle.

The study was done to investigate the effects of cyclical changes of endogenous sex hormones during different phases of menstrual cycle on Acylation stimulating Protein (ASP) and its correlation with lipid profile parameters in healthy reproductive women. Twenty nine healthy reproductive women with regular menstrual cycles were included in this longitudinal study. The levels of FSH, LH, progesterone and estradiol were measured along with ASP. The total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-C, LDL-C levels were estimated during follicular, ovulatory and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. There was a significant rise in ASP levels during luteal phase when compared to follicular phase (P < 0.01). The rise in ASP levels during the luteal phase correlated with elevated progesterone levels (r = 0.472, p = 0.027). Multiple regression analysis including all measured variables in the study showed that progesterone was the only significant predictor of ASP levels. The level of LDL-C as well as total cholesterol/ HDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C ratios showed significant decreases during the luteal phase compared with the follicular phase (P < 0.05). No correlation was seen between ASP levels and the lipid profile parameters. The findings of this study suggest that adipokines such as ASP levels are increased during luteal phase associated with elevated progesterone levels which may contribute to increased fat storage & distribution in women of reproductive age.