Machine learning-based steroid metabolome analysis reveals three distinct subtypes of polycystic ovary syndrome and implicates 11-oxygenated androgens as major drivers of metabolic risk

Eka Melson*, Thais P. Rocha, Roland J. Veen, Lida Abdi, Tara Mcdonnell, Veronika Tandl, James M. Hawley, Laura B.L. Wittemans, Amarah V. Anthony, Lorna C. Gilligan, Fozia Shaheen, Punith Kempegowda, Caroline D.T Gillett, Leanne Cussen, Cornelia Missbrenner, Fannie Lajeunesse-Trempe, Helena Gleeson, Rees D. Aled, Lynne Robinson, Channa JayasenaHarpal S. Randeva, Georgios K. Dimitriadis, Larissa Gomes, Alice J. Sitch, Eleni Vradi, Angela E. Taylor, Michael W. O'Reilly, Barbara Obermayer-Pietsch, Michael Biehl, Wiebke Arlt

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to conferenceAbstractAcademic

Abstract

Introduction: Polycystic ovary syndrome affects 10% of women and comes with a 2-3fold increased risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and fatty liver disease. Androgen excess, a cardinal feature of PCOS, has been implicated as a major contributor to metabolic risk. Adrenal-derived 11-oxygenated androgens represent an important component of PCOS-related androgen excess and are preferentially activated in adipose tissue. We aimed to identify PCOS sub-types with distinct androgen profiles and compare their cardiometabolic risk parameters. Methods: We cross-sectionally studied 488 treatment-naïve women with PCOS diagnosed according to Rotterdam criteria [median age 28 (IQR 24-32) years; BMI 27.5 (22.4-34.6) kg/m 2 ] prospectively recruited at eight centres in the UK & Ireland (n=208), Austria (n=242) and Brazil (n=38). All participants underwent a standardised assessment including clinical history, anthropometric measurements, fasting bloods and a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test. We quantified 11 androgenic serum steroids, including classic and 11-oxygenated androgens, using a validated multi-steroid profiling tandem mass spectrometry assay. We measured serum insulin to calculate HOMA-IR and the Matsuda insulin sensitivity index (ISI). Steroid data were analysed by unsupervised k-means clustering, followed by statistical analysis of differences in clinical phenotype and metabolic parameters. Results: Machine learning analysis identified three stable subgroups of women with PCOS with minimal overlap and distinct steroid metabolomes: a cluster characterised by mainly gonadal-derived androgen excess (testosterone, dihydrotestosterone; GAE cluster; 21.5% of women), a cluster with predominantly adrenal-derived androgen excess (11-oxygenated androgens; AAE cluster; 21.7%), and a cluster with comparably mild androgen excess (MAE cluster; 56.8%). Age and BMI were similar between groups. As compared to GAE and MAE, the AAE cluster had the highest rates of hirsutism (76.4% vs 67.6% vs 59.9%) and female pattern hair loss (32.1% vs 14.3% vs 21.7%). The AAE cluster had significantly increased insulin resistance as indicated by higher values for fasting insulin, 120min insulin and HOMA-IR, and lower ISI than GAE and MAE clusters (all p
Original languageEnglish
PagesOC11.2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb-2023
Event25th European Congress of Endocrinology - Istanbul, Turkey
Duration: 13-May-202316-May-2023

Conference

Conference25th European Congress of Endocrinology
Country/TerritoryTurkey
CityIstanbul
Period13/05/202316/05/2023

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Machine learning-based steroid metabolome analysis reveals three distinct subtypes of polycystic ovary syndrome and implicates 11-oxygenated androgens as major drivers of metabolic risk'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this