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Background: The omega-3 fatty acid (ω-3 fatty acid) such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is currently used in the clinic as a nutritional supplement in the treatment of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). The present study was designed to investigate the effect of EPA on the expression levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) and cytochrome P450 aromatase (encoded by the CYP-19) in primary cultured granulosa cells (GC) from patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF), and also to compare these effects with those in GC of PCOS patients. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, human GC were isolated, primary cultured in vitro, exposed to a range of concentrations of the EPA and investigated with respect to gene expression levels of PPARγ and CYP-19 using real time-polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The participants (n=30) were the patients admitted to the IVF Center in February-March 2013 at Alzahra Hospital, Tabriz, Iran, who were divided into two groups as PCOS (n=15) and non-PCOS (n=15) women (controls). Results: All doses of the EPA significantly induced PPARγ mRNA gene expression level as compared to the control recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rFSH) alone condition. High doses of EPA in the presence of rFSH produced a stimulatory effect on expression level of PPARγ (2.15-fold, P=0.001) and a suppressive effect (0.56-fold, P=0.01) on the expression level of CYP-19, only in the PCOS GC. Conclusion: EPA and FSH signaling pathway affect differentially on the gene expression levels of PPARγ and CYP-19 in PCOS GC. Altered FSH-induced PPARγ activity in PCOS GC may modulate the CYP-19 gene expression in response to EPA, and possibly modulates the subsequent steroidogenesis of these cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The ATP binding cassette A1 (ABCA1) is a key participant in the reverse cholesterol process whereby mediates cholesterol efflux directly to HDL particles. The aim of this study was to investigate whether long-term treatment with conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in post-menopausal women could affect their leukocytes ABCA1 expression. Changes in various serum lipids and lipoprotein fractions were also investigated. Material and Methods. A total of 60 non-obese normolipidaemic post-menopausal women treated with oral oestrogen together with progestin therapy for 3 months were selected. Leukocytes ABCA1 gene expression and serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations were measured at the start and end of the HRT. Results. HRT led to significant increases in HDL cholesterol ( P == 0.001) and apoA-I ( P == 0.046) and significant decrease in apoB ( P == 0.049) and LDL cholesterol ( P == 0.022) when compared with the baseline levels. Analysis of leukocytes ABCA1 mRNA showed a significant increase in ABCA1 gene expression after HRT ( P == 0.001). There was also a significant inverse association ( r == −−0.28, P == 0.03) between ABCA1 gene expression and log TG/HDL cholesterol changes related to HRT. Conclusion. The beneficial cardiovascular effects of HRT could be explained, at least in part, by increasing the ABCA1 gene expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented regarding the study of the association between complex concentration of oxidized LDL/ß2-glycoprotein I and the ABCA1 expression in leukocytes of 60 healthy women.