Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway.
Centre of Molecular Inflammation Research (CEMIR), NTNU, 7491 Trondheim, Norway.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2022 Jan 1;107(1):39-52. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgab684.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder associated with low-grade inflammation and increased incidence of pregnancy complications, but its influence on the maternal immune system in pregnancy is unknown. Longitudinal serum cytokine profiling is a sensitive measure of the complex immunological dynamics of pregnancy.
This work aimed to determine the immunological dynamics of serum cytokines throughout pregnancy in women with PCOS and compare it to pregnancy in women without PCOS.
A post hoc analysis was conducted of longitudinal serum samples from 2 randomized, placebo-controlled multicenter studies of pregnant women with PCOS and 2 studies of pregnant women without PCOS. Pregnant women with PCOS (n = 358) and without PCOS (n = 258, controls) provided 1752 serum samples from 4 time points in pregnancy (weeks 10, 19, 32, and 36). Main outcome measures included maternal serum levels of 22 cytokines and C-reactive protein (CRP) at 4 time points in pregnancy.
Women with PCOS showed marked immunological changes in serum cytokines throughout pregnancy. Compared to controls, women with PCOS showed higher levels of 17 cytokines and CRP at week 10 of pregnancy and a distinct cytokine development throughout pregnancy. The immunological dynamics in women with PCOS was significantly affected by maternal body mass index, smoking, and fetal sex.
Pregnancy in women with PCOS was associated with a strong early mobilization of inflammatory and other serum cytokines persisting throughout pregnancy, indicating a more activated immune status. These findings provide a novel basis for further study of PCOS and pregnancy complications.
多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS）是一种常见的内分泌疾病，与低度炎症和妊娠并发症发生率增加有关，但它对妊娠母体免疫系统的影响尚不清楚。血清细胞因子纵向谱分析是衡量妊娠期间复杂免疫动力学的敏感指标。
本研究旨在确定 PCOS 孕妇妊娠期间血清细胞因子的免疫动力学，并与非 PCOS 孕妇妊娠进行比较。
对 2 项 PCOS 孕妇随机、安慰剂对照多中心研究和 2 项非 PCOS 孕妇研究的纵向血清样本进行了事后分析。PCOS 孕妇（n=358）和非 PCOS 孕妇（n=258，对照组）在妊娠的 4 个时间点（10、19、32 和 36 周）提供了 1752 份血清样本。主要观察指标包括妊娠 4 个时间点时母血清中的 22 种细胞因子和 C 反应蛋白（CRP）水平。
与对照组相比，PCOS 孕妇在整个妊娠期间血清细胞因子均发生明显的免疫变化。与对照组相比，PCOS 孕妇在妊娠 10 周时表现出更高水平的 17 种细胞因子和 CRP，并且整个妊娠期间的细胞因子发展明显不同。PCOS 孕妇的免疫动力学受到母体体重指数、吸烟和胎儿性别等因素的显著影响。
PCOS 孕妇妊娠时表现出强烈的早期炎症和其他血清细胞因子的动员，持续贯穿整个妊娠，表明免疫状态更为活跃。这些发现为进一步研究 PCOS 和妊娠并发症提供了新的依据。
