Vitamin D Decreases Serum VEGF Correlating with Clinical Improvement in Vitamin D-Deficient Women with PCOS: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial
by
Mohamad Irani 1,*
, David B. Seifer 2, Richard V. Grazi 3, Sara Irani 4, Zev Rosenwaks 1 and Reshef Tal 5
Mohamad Irani 1,*, David B. Seifer 2, Richard V. Grazi 3, Sara Irani 4, Zev Rosenwaks 1 and Reshef Tal 5
1
The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
2
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA
3
Genesis Fertility and Reproductive Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11204, USA
4
Molecular and Cell Biology Program, School of Graduate Studies and Departments of Cell Biology and Pediatrics, State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA
5
Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nutrients 2017, 9(4), 334; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9040334
Received: 23 February 2017 / Revised: 11 March 2017 / Accepted: 20 March 2017 / Published: 28 March 2017
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been suggested to play a role in the pathophysiology of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and may contribute to increased risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in affected individuals. Vitamin D (VitD) supplementation improves multiple clinical parameters in VitD-deficient women with PCOS and decreases VEGF levels in several other pathologic conditions. Unveiling the basic mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of vitamin D on PCOS may enhance our understanding of the pathophysiology of this syndrome. It may also suggest a new treatment for PCOS that can improve it through the same mechanism as vitamin D and can be given regardless of vitamin D levels. Therefore, we aimed to explore the effect of VitD supplementation on serum VEGF levels and assess whether changes in VEGF correlate with an improvement in characteristic clinical abnormalities of PCOS. This is a randomized placebo-controlled trial conducted between October 2013 and March 2015. Sixty-eight VitD-deficient women with PCOS were recruited. Women received either 50,000 IU of oral VitD3 or placebo once weekly for 8 weeks. There was a significant decrease in serum VEGF levels (1106.4 ± 36.5 to 965.3 ± 42.7 pg·mL–1; p < 0.001) in the VitD group. Previously reported findings of this trial demonstrated a significant decrease in the intermenstrual intervals, Ferriman-Gallwey hirsutism score, and triglycerides following VitD supplementation. Interestingly, ∆VEGF was positively correlated with ∆triglycerides (R2 = 0.22; p = 0.02) following VitD supplementation. In conclusion, VitD replacement significantly decreases serum VEGF levels correlating with a decrease in triglycerides in women with PCOS. This is a novel molecular explanation for the beneficial effects of VitD treatment. It also suggests the need to investigate a potential role of VitD treatment in reducing the incidence or severity of OHSS in VitD-deficient women with PCOS.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Irani, M.; Seifer, D.B.; Grazi, R.V.; Irani, S.; Rosenwaks, Z.; Tal, R. Vitamin D Decreases Serum VEGF Correlating with Clinical Improvement in Vitamin D-Deficient Women with PCOS: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial. Nutrients 2017, 9, 334.
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