{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T17:19:17Z","timestamp":1780334357190,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":115,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,5]],"date-time":"2021-05-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1620172800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most prevalent endocrinopathy of reproductive years. Salient features in presentation of patients PCOS include menstrual dysfunction, hyperandrogenism and\/or polycystic appearance of ovaries on ultrasound. While the diagnosis of PCOS depends on presence of specified criteria, misdiagnoses are common. Despite years of extensive research, the exact aetiology of PCOS remains largely unknown. In the past decade, apart from insulin resistance and hyperandrogenemia, anti-mullerian hormone (AMH), an important marker of ovarian reserve, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a crucial factor in angiogenesis, have been examined as plausible players of causative relevance for PCOS. Vitamin D, a sex-steroid hormone that is universally known for its relevance for skeletal health, has received increasing attention due to growing evidence supporting its pivotal in reproductive physiology and in PCOS. In this review we summarize our current understanding of the mechanisms relevant to the pathophysiology of PCOS and examine the role of vitamin D signalling in this context.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms22094905","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,5]],"date-time":"2021-05-05T22:51:42Z","timestamp":1620255102000},"page":"4905","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":18,"title":["A Narrative Review of Current Understanding of the Pathophysiology of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Focus on Plausible Relevance of Vitamin D"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"22","author":[{"given":"Rajeshwari","family":"Kalyanaraman","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, St Francis Hospital and Medical Center, 114 Woodland Street, Hartford, CT 06105, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lubna","family":"Pal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology &amp; Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06510, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1291","DOI":"10.4158\/EP15748.DSC","article-title":"American association of clinical endocrinologists, american college of endocrinology, and androgen excess and pcos society disease state clinical review: Guide to the best practices in the evaluation and treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome\u2014Part 1","volume":"21","author":"Goodman","year":"2015","journal-title":"Endocr. 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