Nutrients 2017, 9(4), 334; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9040334
Vitamin D Decreases Serum VEGF Correlating with Clinical Improvement in Vitamin D-Deficient Women with PCOS: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial
Mohamad Irani 1,*
, David B. Seifer 2, Richard V. Grazi 3, Sara Irani 4, Zev Rosenwaks 1 and Reshef Tal 5
, David B. Seifer 2, Richard V. Grazi 3, Sara Irani 4, Zev Rosenwaks 1 and Reshef Tal 51
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.
Received: 23 February 2017 / Revised: 11 March 2017 / Accepted: 20 March 2017 / Published: 28 March 2017
Abstract
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. View Full-Text
Figure 1
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
Share & Cite This Article
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.
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
Related Articles
Article Metrics
Comments
[Return to top]
Nutrients
EISSN 2072-6643
Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland
RSS
E-Mail Table of Contents Alert