Interplay between Oxidative Stress and Chronic Inflammation in PCOS: The Role of Genetic Variability in PCOS Risk and Treatment Responses

PCOS is often accompanied by insulin resistance, which is associated with the pathogenesis of the syndrome and increases the risk of developing the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular complications. All these processes are characterized by chronic inflammation, which may be associated with an increased formation of reactive oxygen species and activation of inflammatory pathways that may further aggravate the function of pancreatic beta-cells. It has been shown that PCOS treatment improves metabolic indexes, while at the same time lowering inflammatory indicators. This chapter summarizes the latest findings about the role of oxidative stress and chronic inflammation in pathogenesis of PCOS. It also provides information on genetic variability in these pathways that may lead to interindividual differences in the risk for PCOS-related metabolic complications. Furthermore, genetic variability in these pathways may influence response to different treatment options in PCOS patients. a significant association between and polymorphism genotype in PCOS patients than in controls ( p 0.01) pathways and PCOS risk, clinical manifestations, or treatment response. Evidence shows that different genetic polymorphisms in those pathways have an important role in susceptibility for the development of PCOS and that they greatly influence its clinical manifestations. There is still a lack of studies that would evaluate how those polymorphisms affect individual treatment response. Large pharmacogenetic studies would improve our understanding of PCOS pathogenesis, and they could identify polymorphisms potentially used as a predictive biomarker for evaluating the risk for developing PCOS and for predicting treatment response in an individual patient.