Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder seen in women of reproductive age. Named after the cysts which are often found within the ovaries, it is seen in up to 20% of women in this age range. What is less well understood about the condition is its link with insulin resistance and changes to energy metabolism in skeletal muscle.

Moreno-Asso et al. mapped the gene expression of skeletal muscle from women diagnosed with PCOS, and investigated whether cultured muscle cells from this group retain the gene signature of PCOS in vivo.

Muscle biopsies showed significant changes in the expression of genes related to mitochondrial function, which were associated with lower protein expression of certain mitochondrial complexes. Interestingly, altered gene expression was not preserved in cultured myotubes, indicating that the changes are due to the muscle’s extracellular environment and must, therefore, be linked to endocrine changes in PCOS.

Read the full article in Journal of Molecular Endocrinology 68 63–76