P-216: Common Polymorphisms of StAR Gene Are Not Associated with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Iranian Patients

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders, affecting 5-10% of reproductive aged women. High levels of androgen hormone can be accounted as the most important symptoms in PCOS. Androgen is the precursor of steroid biosynthesis in ovary. The transport of cholesterol to the inner mitochondrial membrane through StAR protein is also necessary for androgen and steroid biosynthesis. Therefore StAR gene can be a candidate for surveying the etiology of PCO syndrome. Materials and Methods: Seven common polymorphisms of StAR (exons 5,6 and 7) were studied in 45 PCOS patients who has referred to royan Institute, 40 women (with male factor infertility) under intra uterine insemination (IUI) treatment (as drug-response control group) and 40 healthy fertile women as control group. We used polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method on the DNA isolated from blood samples. Results: No association was observed between SNPs of exons 5, 6 and 7 with PCOS. However, heterozygote genotype for polymorphism rs28938471 (Ala218Val) in exon 6 was only seen in 7 PCO patients, 1 drug-response control and 5 fertile controls that was not significant. Conclusion: Although these common polymorphisms have been reported in other cholesterol metabolism disorders, this study showed there is no association between these common StAR polymorphism and PCOS in Iranian patients.