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Dysregulation of Endothelial cell markers in polycystic ovary syndrome
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  • Published: 16 February 2026

Dysregulation of Endothelial cell markers in polycystic ovary syndrome

  • Preeti Borde1,
  • Sara Anjum Niinuma1,
  • Haniya Habib1,
  • Ashleigh Suzu-Nishio Takemoto1,
  • Manjula Nandakumar1,
  • Thozhukat Sathyapalan2,
  • Alexandra E. Butler1 na1 &
  • …
  • Stephen L. Atkin1 na1 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Biomarkers
  • Endocrinology

Abstract

Endothelial cell dysfunction is reported to occur in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) but it is unclear if this is due to obesity or inherent to PCOS. We hypothesized that in body mass index (BMI)-matched women with obesity, with and without PCOS, endothelial cell dysfunction protein markers would differ due to the inherent pathophysiology of PCOS. 92 women with PCOS and 19 control subjects were identified from a PCOS and control biobank and matched for obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). Endothelial dysfunction markers were determined by the Slow Off-rate Modified Aptamer (SOMA)-scan proteomics method. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM1; p < 0.05), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA; p < 0.05), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1; p < 0.05) and D-dimer (p < 0.003) were significantly elevated in PCOS but did not correlate with either insulin resistance (IR) or hyperandrogenemia. BMI, C-reactive protein (CRP) and sex hormone binding protein (SHBG) did not differ between subjects, but IR and testosterone were increased (p < 0.01) in PCOS, as expected. Endothelial dysfunction is an inherent feature of the pathophysiology found in PCOS, with markers of both endothelial activation/dysfunction (ICAM1 elevation) and coagulation and fibrinolysis (tPA, PAI-1 and D-Dimer elevation) in obese PCOS compared to matched controls. These circulatory proteins are of direct relevance to potential development of cardiovascular disease in PCOS.

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Data availability

All the data for this study will be made available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally to this work: Alexandra E. Butler and Stephen L. Atkin.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Bahrain, Adliya, 15503, Kingdom of Bahrain

    Preeti Borde, Sara Anjum Niinuma, Haniya Habib, Ashleigh Suzu-Nishio Takemoto, Manjula Nandakumar, Alexandra E. Butler & Stephen L. Atkin

  2. Academic Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Hull York Medical School, Hull, UK

    Thozhukat Sathyapalan

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  1. Preeti Borde
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  2. Sara Anjum Niinuma
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Contributions

P.B., M.N., S.A.N., H.H., A. S.-N. T. and A.E.B. wrote the main manuscript and M.N. prepared Figure 1. T.S. supervised clinical studies and data collection. A.E.B. analyzed the data. S.L.A.: contributed to the conceptualization, study design, and data interpretation. All authors contributed to the reviewing and editing of the manuscript and approved the final version. Alexandra E Butler is the guarantor of this work.

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Correspondence to Alexandra E. Butler.

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Borde, P., Niinuma, S.A., Habib, H. et al. Dysregulation of Endothelial cell markers in polycystic ovary syndrome. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40533-3

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  • Received: 27 April 2025

  • Accepted: 13 February 2026

  • Published: 16 February 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40533-3

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Keywords

  • Polycystic ovary syndrome
  • Endothelial cell markers
  • PAI-1
  • Tissue plasminogen activator
  • ICAM-1
  • D-Dimer
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