SUN-012 Role of Leptin-Receptor Expressing Cells in the Pathogenesis of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age, and is characterized by hyperandrogenism, oligo/anovulation, and/or polycystic ovaries. Many women with PCOS also suffer from adverse metabolic phenotypes, including central adiposity, insulin resistance, and glucose intolerance, which can exacerbate reproductive dysfunction. Androgens can act upon androgen receptors (AR), which are expressed in many reproductive and metabolic tissues, and contribute to the pathogenesis of PCOS. AR are highly expressed in the neuroendocrine hypothalamus in areas which regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and contribute to the central regulation of metabolism. Many phenotypes of PCOS can be modelled in rodents by administration of the non-aromatizable androgen dihydrotestosterone (DHT) during critical periods of development. Neuronal AR is key in the development of PCOS, as female mice with neuronal AR deletion who are exposed to androgen excess are protected against development of anovulation, polycystic ovaries, and metabolic abnormalities. Yet it is not known which populations of neurons confers this protection. We hypothesize that leptin-receptor (LepR) neurons participate in the pathogenesis of PCOS, as sub-populations of LepR neurons co-express AR in the hypothalamus, and LepR neurons are critical in the central regulation of energy homeostasis, and exert permissive actions on puberty and fertility. We have pre-natally androgenized (PNA) a mouse model of AR deletion specifically in LepR cells (LepR(ΔAR)) and are conducting reproductive and metabolic phenotyping. As previously demonstrated, control PNA females show long periods of acyclicity, whereas LepR(ΔAR) PNA female mice show a similar number of days in each stage of the estrous cycle, number of cycles, and cycle length as vehicle treated LepR(ΔAR) females. Our findings indicate that a subpopulation of AR/LepR cells mediate the effects of prenatal androgen excess on female estrous cycles in a mouse model of PCOS-like phenotype.