Table 3.
Comparison of Attributes of Prenatal Dihydrotestosterone-Treated Sheep and Mice, and Postnatal Dihydrotestosterone, Letrozole, and Estradiol Valerate–Treated Rats with That of Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
| PCOS Phenotype | Prenatal | Postnatal | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||||||
| PCOS Women | Sheep | RatSD | Mouse | RatW | RatW | RatW | RatW | RatW | |
|
| |||||||||
| DHTP | DHTF | DHTP | DHTP | DHTP | Letrozole | Letrozole | EV | ||
|
| |||||||||
| GD 30–90 | GD 16–19 | GD 16–18 | 3h PN | 21d PN (90d) | 21d PN (90d) | 42d PN (21d) | 14 d PN | ||
| Hyperandrogenism | Yes20 | Nofunc,47 | No,66 Yes67 | Yes* | No70,89,90 | No91 | Yes91 | Yes92,93 | No94 |
| LH excess | Yes21 | Yes48 | Yes66,67 | Yes89 | – | – | – | Yes92,93 | No94 |
| Oligo-anovulation | Yes20 | No53 | Yes67 | Yes89,90 | – | Yes91 | Yes91 | Yes92 | Yes94 |
| Infertility | Yes20 | Not tested,V,53 | Not testedV,66 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| PCO morphology | Yes22 | No57 | Yes67 | – | – | Yes91 | Yes91 | Yes92 | Yes94 |
| Increased ovary weight/volume | Yes22 | Yes, fetal57 | – | – | – | No91 | Yes91 | No92 | No94 |
| Follicular persistence | ? | No53 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Enhanced follicular recruitment | YesA,23 | Yes, fetal57 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Increased intrafollicular androgen | Yes24 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Reduced oocyte competence | Yes22 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Disrupted E2 positive feedback | ? | No88 | Yes66 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Reduced E2 negative feedback | ? | Yes88 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Reduced P4 negative feedback | Yes25 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Increased GnRH sensitivity | Yes26 | Yes48 | No66 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Reduced insulin sensitivity | Yes9 | Yes64 | – | No90,A | Yes70 | Yes91 | No91 | – | – |
| Pancreatic β-cell dysfunction | At risk27 | – | – | Yes90 | – | – | – | – | – |
| IUGR | YesB,28 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Catch-up growth | YesB,29 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Increased visceral fat | YesC,30 | – | – | No90 | No70 | Yes91 | No91 | – | – |
| Increased serum triglycerides | YesC,31 | – | – | – | No70 | No91 | No91 | – | – |
| Increased total cholesterol | YesC,31 | – | – | – | No70 | No91 | No91 | – | – |
| Increased free fatty acids | YesC,31 | – | – | – | – | No91 | No91 | – | – |
| Increased atherogenic index | YesC,31 | – | – | – | No70 | – | – | – | – |
| Hypertension | At risk32 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
A
Glucose intolerance present
F
free
P
propionate
SD
Sprague-Dawley
V
virilized
W
Wistar
*
See text for the dual coding of Roland et al90 (“Developmental Programming of PCOS Phenotype with Androgen Excess,” subhead “Hyperandrogenism”).
PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome; DHT, dihydrotestosterone; GD, gestational day; PN, postnatal; LH, luteinizing hormone; PCO, polycystic ovary; E2, estradiol; GnRH, gonadotropin-releasing hormone; IUGR, intrauterine growth restriction.