Chronic Inflammation in PCOS: The Potential Benefits of Specialized Pro-Resolving Lipid Mediators (SPMs) in the Improvement of the Resolutive Response

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 22; no. 1; p. 384
• Main Authors: Regidor, Pedro-Antonio, Mueller, Anna, Sailer, Manuela, Gonzalez Santos, Fernando, Rizo, Jose Miguel, Egea, Fernando Moreno
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 31.12.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; Arteriosclerosis; Atherosclerosis; Cytokines; Diabetes mellitus; Disease; Docosahexaenoic Acids - pharmacology; Enzymes; Female; Humans; Infections; Inflammation; Inflammation - etiology; Inflammation - metabolism; Inflammation - pathology; Inflammation - prevention & control; Inflammatory diseases; Insulin; Insulin resistance; Interleukin 18; Interleukin 6; Intermediates; Leukotrienes; Lipids; Metabolism; Neutrophils; Obesity; Ovaries; Pathogens; PCOS; Polycystic ovary syndrome; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome - complications; Prostaglandins; Recruitment; Review; Signs and symptoms; specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs); Tumor necrosis factor-α; Ultrasound; Womens health; PCOS; inflammation; specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs); obesity
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms22010384

PCOS as the most common endocrine disorder of women in their reproductive age affects between 5-15 % of the female population. Apart from its cardinal symptoms, like irregular and anovulatory cycles, hyperandrogenemia and a typical ultrasound feature of the ovary, obesity, and insulin resistance are often associated with the disease. Furthermore, PCOS represents a status of chronic inflammation with permanently elevated levels of inflammatory markers including IL-6 and IL-18, TNF-α, and CRP. Inflammation, as discovered only recently, consists of two processes occurring concomitantly: active initiation, involving "classical" mediators including prostaglandins and leukotrienes, and active resolution processes based on the action of so-called specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs). These novel lipid mediator molecules derive from the essential ω3-poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) DHA and EPA and are synthesized via specific intermediates. The role and benefits of SPMs in chronic inflammatory diseases like obesity, atherosclerosis, and Diabetes mellitus has become a subject of intense research during the last years and since PCOS features several of these pathologies, this review aims at summarizing potential roles of SPMs in this disease and their putative use as novel therapeutics.