1
|
Laisk T, Kukuškina V, Palmer D, Laber S, Chen CY, Ferreira T, Rahmioglu N, Zondervan K, Becker C, Smoller JW, Lippincott M, Salumets A, Granne I, Seminara S, Neale B, Mägi R, Lindgren CM. Large-scale meta-analysis highlights the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in the genetic regulation of menstrual cycle length. Hum Mol Genet 2018; 27:4323-4332. [PMID: 30202859 PMCID: PMC6276838 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddy317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2017] [Revised: 08/17/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The normal menstrual cycle requires a delicate interplay between the hypothalamus, pituitary and ovary. Therefore, its length is an important indicator of female reproductive health. Menstrual cycle length has been shown to be partially controlled by genetic factors, especially in the follicle-stimulating hormone beta-subunit (FSHB) locus. A genome-wide association study meta-analysis of menstrual cycle length in 44 871 women of European ancestry confirmed the previously observed association with the FSHB locus and identified four additional novel signals in, or near, the GNRH1, PGR, NR5A2 and INS-IGF2 genes. These findings not only confirm the role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in the genetic regulation of menstrual cycle length but also highlight potential novel local regulatory mechanisms, such as those mediated by IGF2.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Triin Laisk
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Estonian Genome Center, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Competence Centre on Health Technologies, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Viktorija Kukuškina
- Estonian Genome Center, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Duncan Palmer
- Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Samantha Laber
- Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Center for Health for Health Information and Discovery, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Chia-Yen Chen
- Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Teresa Ferreira
- Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Center for Health for Health Information and Discovery, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - Nilufer Rahmioglu
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Krina Zondervan
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Oxford Endometriosis CaRe Centre, Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Christian Becker
- Oxford Endometriosis CaRe Centre, Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Jordan W Smoller
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Margaret Lippincott
- Harvard Reproductive Sciences Center and Reproductive Endocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Andres Salumets
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Competence Centre on Health Technologies, Tartu, Estonia
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Biomedicine, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Ingrid Granne
- Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Stephanie Seminara
- Harvard Reproductive Sciences Center and Reproductive Endocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Benjamin Neale
- Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Reedik Mägi
- Estonian Genome Center, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Cecilia M Lindgren
- Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Center for Health for Health Information and Discovery, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Miller EM. The reproductive ecology of iron in women. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2016; 159:S172-95. [PMID: 26808104 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Reproductive ecology focuses on the sensitivity of human reproduction to environmental variation. While reproductive ecology has historically focused on the relationship between energy status and reproductive outcomes, iron status is equally critical to women's reproductive health, given the wide-ranging detrimental effects of iron-deficiency anemia on maternal and infant well-being. This review interprets the vast literature on iron status and women's reproduction through an evolutionary framework. First, it will critique the evidence for iron deficiency caused by blood loss during menstruation, reinterpreting the available data as ecological variation in menses within and between populations of women. Second, it will highlight the scant but growing evidence that iron status is implicated in fertility, a relationship that has deep evolutionary roots. Third, this review proposes a new hypothesis for the transfer of iron from mother to infant via pregnancy and breastfeeding: reproductive iron withholding. In this hypothesis, mothers transfer iron to infants in a manner that helps infants avoid iron-mediated infection and oxidative stress, but trades off with potential risk of maternal and infant iron deficiency. Finally, this review explores two main factors that can modify the relationship between iron status and the gestation-lactation cycle: (1) the relationship between long-term reproductive effort (parity) and iron status and (2) supplementation schemes before and during pregnancy. The review concludes by suggesting continued research into iron homeostasis in women using evolutionary, ecological, and biocultural frameworks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M Miller
- Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Rowe E, Van Horn A, Rockwell LC. CYP17 genotype modifies the impact of anthropometric variation on salivary estradiol in healthy women. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2014; 156:665-70. [PMID: 25448501 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2014] [Revised: 11/14/2014] [Accepted: 11/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Several studies demonstrate that human ovarian function is responsive to the energetic environment, which has led to the development of theoretical models that explain this phenomenon. Although many genes are involved in ovarian hormone production, the possibility that genetic polymorphism may affect ovarian response to energetic conditions has not been considered. Cytochrome P450c17α is an enzyme that produces androgen precursors used to make estrogens during ovarian steroidogenesis, and is encoded by the CYP17 gene. A functionally significant variant within the promoter region of CYP17 has been linked to variation in steroid production, and some evidence suggests that this polymorphism could alter transcription of CYP17 in an insulin-dependent manner. We tested the hypothesis that the CYP17 variant affected the relationship between anthropometric measurements and salivary estradiol in healthy women in the United States (n = 28). PCR-RLFP analysis was used to genotype women for the genetic variant, and estradiol was assayed from saliva by EIA. Moderated regression analysis of these preliminary data revealed a significant interaction between waist-to-hip ratio and CYP17 genotype (P = 0.004). Our study provides evidence that gene-environment interactions should be considered in future adaptive models for human ovarian function. Moreover, our results stand to illuminate possible associations between this genetic variant and reproductive disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Rowe
- Department of Anthropology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907
| | | | | |
Collapse
|