Table 1.
Adipokines and their main effects in PCOS.
| Adipokines | Site of production | Circulating levels | Effects in PCOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adiponectin | White adipose tissue | ↓ | Regulates gonadal axis hormone secretion, promotes ovulation, and improves insulin resistance |
| Pituitary gland | |||
| Ovary | |||
| Chemerin | White adipose tissue | ↑ | Aggravates insulin resistance and reduces estrogen and progesterone expression |
| Ovary | |||
| Metrnl | White adipose tissue | ↓ | Negatively correlated with fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR |
| Leptin | White adipose tissue | ↑ | Aggravates IR, promotes inflammation, induces granulocyte apoptosis, and regulates steroid hormone secretion |
| Apelin | White adipose tissue | → | Promotion of IFG-1-induced estrogen and progesterone secretion |
| Hypothalamus | |||
| Pituitary gland | |||
| Ovary | |||
| Resistin | White adipose tissue | ↑ | Inhibits estrogen and progesterone secretion, promotes testosterone production; activates macrophages to produce pro-inflammatory factors such as TNF-α |
| Ovary | |||
| Visfatin | Visceral adipose tissue | ↑ | Participates in local energy metabolism in the ovary, regulates steroid hormone production such as suppressing androgen production and promoting IFG-1-induced estrogen and progesterone secretion |
| Hypothalamus | |||
| Pituitary gland | |||
| Ovary | |||
| Vaspin | Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue, ovary | ↑ | Improves insulin sensitivity and regulates granulocyte function |
| Lipocalin 2 | Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue | conflict | Associated with diabetes progression |
| Omentin | Visceral adipose tissue | ↓ | Regulates inflammatory status and reduces insulin resistance |
↑, Increased circulating levels, ↓, Decreased circulating levels, →,equally circulating levels. are explained in the text. In the table, we only list the main sites of production and effects in PCOS.