Study on the levels of matrix metalloproteinase 2,9 and their inhibitors in the follicular fluid of patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome

Objective To investigate the levels of matrix metalloproteinase(MMP)-2,MMP-9 and their tissue inhibitors(TIMP-2 and TIMP-1) in follicular fluid of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS) and normally ovulating women who receive in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer(IVF-ET) and to explore the possible action mechanism of MMPs in the pathogenesis of PCOS.Methods The follicular fluids were collected from 30 women who received IVF-ET because of PCOS(PCOS group) and 30 normally ovulating women who received IVF due to fallopian tube factors(control group).The levels of MMP-2,MMP-9 and TIMP-2,TIMP-1 were detected by ELISA.Results The levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in PCOS group were significantly higher than those of control group(P0.05).The levels of TIMP-2,TIMP-1 in follicular fluid in PCOS group were lower than those in control group,but there were no significant differences between the two groups(P0.05).The ratios of MMP-2/TIMP-2,MMP-9/TIMP-1 in PCOS group were significantly higher than those of control group,and there were significant differences between two groups(P0.05).The levels of MMP-2 in follicular fluid were negatively correlated with those of TIMP-2(r=0.4037,P0.05),so were the levels of MMP-9 with those of TIMP-1(r=0.4279,P0.05).Conclusion The increase of levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in follicular fluid of patients with PCOS suggests that the multi-follicular development of PCOS patients may be related with gelatinolytic activity and the abnormality of extracellular matrix reconstruction.