Serum Concentrationsof Leptin and Soluble Leptin Receptor in Women after BilateralOvariectomy

Overview

Objective:
To determine whether the blood concentrations of leptin and soluble leptin receptor(LEPR) hang in women after bilateral ovariectomy, and whether there is a relationship betweenthe concentrations of leptin, LEPR and LH, FSH and 17 b-estradiol before and after castration.Design: Prospective clinical study.Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles Universityand the General Faculty Hospital, Prague.Methods: 10 women of reproductive age (31–37 years) with a regular menstrual cycle were inclu-ded in the study. Blood samples were always taken during the follicular phase of the menstrualcycle and 5 days after bilateral ovariectomy. In 9 women, hysterectomy was performed with thebilateral ovariectomy. Evaluated parameters: leptin, soluble leptin receptor, FSH, LH, 17 b-estradiol and BMI. Serum soluble leptin receptor and leptin concentrations were determined usingcommercial ELISA kits. Serum concentrations of FSH, LH, and 17 b-estradiol were determinedusing commercial RIA kits.Results: We did not find any statistically significant changes in the concentration of leptin (8.9 ±5.5 vs 7 ± 5.6) and LEPR (16.2 ± 5.6 vs 20.9 ± 8.9) before and after surgical castration. After surgery,according to expectations, the concentration of LH and FSH significantly increased while theconcentration of 17 b-estradiol decreased (P < 0.05). Five days after surgical castration we foundonly a tendency toward decrease in the concentration of leptin and an increase in the LEPRconcentration. The differences were not statistically significant. Except for the positive correlation between leptin concentration and BMI, we did not find any statistically significant correlationbetween the concentrations of leptin and LEPR and any of the other evaluated parameters inboth groups.Conclusion: In our study, there was a significant decrease in 17 b-estradiol concentration fivedays after surgery. In contrast, the concentrations of FSH and LH significantly increased aftersurgery, which is in agreement with the expected endocrinological changes after ovariectomy.There was a tendency toward a decrease in serum concentrations of leptin and increase in serumconcentration of LEPR after surgery, but it was not statistically significant, which is in contrastto another study published regarding this topic.

Key words:
leptin, soluble leptin receptor, ovariectomy