Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, P.R. China; National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beijing 100191, P.R. China; Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100191, P.R. China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproductive Technology, Beijing 100191, P.R. China.
Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, P.R. China.
Reprod Toxicol. 2022 Aug;111:20-26. doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2022.05.002. Epub 2022 May 13.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder among women of reproductive age. Heavy metals, a nonnegligible pollutant, have significant effects on human health, and they are related to reproductive dysfunction. This study aimed to investigate whether serum heavy metal levels were related to PCOS and the association of increased heavy metals with endocrine, lipid-metabolism and inflammatory characteristics and pregnancy outcomes. 80 subjects (40 with PCOS and 40 for control) were selected to analyze their clinical characteristics and serum heavy metal concentrations. Serum chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg) and copper (Cu) were significantly higher in PCOS patients. Cr was positively correlated with luteinizing hormone (LH) (ρ = 0.240 and P = 0.033) and negatively correlated with prolactin (PRL) (ρ = -0.248 and P = 0.032), Hg was positively correlated with LH (ρ = 0.446 and P < 0.001), testosterone (T) (ρ = 0.300 and P = 0.008), androstenedione (A) (ρ = 0.316 and P = 0.006), interleukin-6 (IL-6) (ρ = 0.344 and P = 0.002), and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (ρ = 0.248 and P = 0.026), and Cu was found to be positively correlated with low-density lipids (LDL) (ρ = 0.264 and P = 0.021), IL-6 (ρ = 0.295 and P = 0.008), TNF-α (ρ = 0.336 and P = 0.002) and white blood cells (WBC) count (ρ = 0.300 and P = 0.008). Cu levels were significantly higher in nonpregnant patients than in pregnant patients who received in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer treatments. In conclusion, the present study shows that PCOS patients exhibited increased serum Cr, Hg and Cu levels, which were related to some sex hormones and lipid-metabolism disturbances and inflammatory cytokines releases, and elevated Cu levels were related to pregnancy failure, suggesting that these heavy metals may provide valuable information to predict PCOS.
多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS）是育龄妇女中最常见的内分泌紊乱疾病。重金属是一种不可忽视的污染物，对人类健康有重大影响，与生殖功能障碍有关。本研究旨在探讨血清重金属水平是否与 PCOS 有关，以及重金属水平升高与内分泌、脂质代谢和炎症特征以及妊娠结局的关系。选择 80 例受试者（40 例 PCOS 患者和 40 例对照）分析其临床特征和血清重金属浓度。PCOS 患者血清铬（Cr）、汞（Hg）和铜（Cu）明显升高。Cr 与黄体生成素（LH）呈正相关（ρ=0.240，P=0.033），与催乳素（PRL）呈负相关（ρ=-0.248，P=0.032），Hg 与 LH 呈正相关（ρ=0.446，P<0.001），与睾酮（T）（ρ=0.300，P=0.008）、雄烯二酮（A）（ρ=0.316，P=0.006）、白细胞介素-6（IL-6）（ρ=0.344，P=0.002）和肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）（ρ=0.248，P=0.026）呈正相关，Cu 与低密度脂蛋白（LDL）（ρ=0.264，P=0.021）、IL-6（ρ=0.295，P=0.008）、TNF-α（ρ=0.336，P=0.002）和白细胞计数（WBC）（ρ=0.300，P=0.008）呈正相关。未妊娠接受体外受精和胚胎移植治疗的患者血清 Cu 水平明显高于妊娠患者。总之，本研究表明 PCOS 患者血清 Cr、Hg 和 Cu 水平升高，与某些性激素和脂质代谢紊乱及炎症细胞因子释放有关，升高的 Cu 水平与妊娠失败有关，提示这些重金属可能为预测 PCOS 提供有价值的信息。
