The objective of this study is to confirm the role of c-fos in the regulation of 17-alpha hydroxylase (CYP17) and androgen production in granulosa cells from Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients. The ovarian granulosa cells from the PCOS and non- PCOS patients during IVF/ICSI–ET are isolated and divided into two groups: The PCOS group and the control group,then they are cultured in vitro for 48 h. The following techniques are then used: The radioimmunoassay to determine the level of estradiol, progesterone,testosterone; The 2-NBDG as the fluorescence probe to detect the glucose uptake in granulosa cells; And Western Blot technology to analyze the cellular expressions of c-fos, and CYP17. The results show that compared with the control group,the testosterone secretion within ovarian granulosa cells from PCOS patients is increased (P<0.05), the progesterone level is significantly lower (P<0.05), the estradiol (P>0.05) does not change significantly, and the 2-NBDG uptake in granulosa cells is lower (P<0.05), indicating that the testosterone secretion within ovarian granulosa cells from PCOS patients is significantly increased, and the glucose metabolic disorders are present in granulosa cells from PCOS patients. The Western Blot shows that CYP17 (P<0.05) has a high expression in ovarian granulosa cells from PCOS patients compared with the control group patients, and the expression of c-fos is decreased (P<0.05), indicating that the c-fos may be one of the factors responsible for the CYP17 repression, and it may be one of the reasons for the increase in the testosterone production of granulose cells.

polycystic ovarian syndrome  /  human ovarian granulosa cells  /  c-fos  /  CYP17  /  testosterone