Serum glypican-4 and clusterin are increased and associated with insulin resistance in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract

Abstract Objective: To investigate the changes in serum glypican-4 (GPC4) and clusterin (CLU) levels in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) as well as their correlation with sex hormones and metabolic parameters. Method: A total of 40 PCOS patients and 40 age-matched healthy women during the same period were selected. To detect and compare serum GPC4 and CLU levels between the two groups, binary logistic regression was used to analyze the relative risk of PCOS at different levels of serum GPC4 and CLU. Stepwise linear regression was used to analyze the influential factors of serum GPC4 and CLU in PCOS patients. Results: Serum GPC4 (1.82 ± 0.49 vs. 1.30 ± 0.61 ng/ml, P < 0.001) and CLU (468.79 ± 92.85 vs. 228.59 ± 82.42 µg/ml, P < 0.001) in PCOS patients were significantly higher than those in healthy women. In the PCOS group, serum GPC4 was positively correlated with FSH, FPG, FINS, HOMA-IR, TG, and CLU (P < 0.05), whereas serum CLU was positively correlated with BMI, FPG, FINS, and HOMA-IR (P < 0.05), multiple stepwise linear regression analysis showed that HOMA-IR was independently associated with serum GPC4, and it showed that BMI and HOMA-IR were independently associated with CLU (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Serum GPC4 and CLU levels in PCOS patients were significantly higher than those in healthy women, suggesting that GPC4 and CLU may be markers associated with insulin resistance in women with PCOS.