{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T08:20:18Z","timestamp":1787818818847,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787702400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Int. J. Mol. Sci.","IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Endothelial dysfunction has been reported in polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) and is associated with obesity. We hypothesised that circulating biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction would not differ between non-obese women with PMOS and age- and BMI-matched controls in the absence of major between-group differences in insulin resistance (IR), systemic inflammation or vitamin D status. Plasma concentrations of 20 endothelial-associated proteins were measured using Slow Off-rate Modified Aptamer (SOMAscan) technology in 29 non-obese women with PMOS and 29 age- and BMI-matched controls. Women with PMOS had higher Ferriman\u2013Gallwey scores, free androgen index (FAI) and anti-M\u00fcllerian hormone (AMH), whereas HOMA-IR, C-reactive protein (CRP), vitamin D metabolites and endothelial-associated biomarkers did not differ significantly between groups. Within the PMOS cohort, FAI was strongly positively associated with E-selectin (Pearson r = 0.718, p &lt; 0.001, FDR-adjusted q = 0.027), and HOMA-IR was positively associated with ICAM-2 (r = 0.670, p = 0.001, q = 0.046). The FAI\u2013E-selectin association remained robust in Spearman sensitivity analysis (\u03c1 = 0.720, p &lt; 0.001, q = 0.009), whereas the HOMA-IR\u2013ICAM-2 association remained nominally significant (\u03c1 = 0.579, p = 0.007) but not after FDR correction. A positive association between 24,25(OH)2D3 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) was observed using Pearson correlation (r = 0.648, p = 0.002, q = 0.042), but was not retained after FDR correction in Spearman sensitivity analysis. Thus, non-obese women with PMOS did not demonstrate a generalised alteration in circulating endothelial biomarkers compared with matched controls. Hyperandrogenism, in particular, was robustly associated with endothelial activation, whereas associations with IR were less consistent and vitamin D metabolites showed no robust relationship with the endothelial biomarker profile. Collectively, the findings suggest that variation in endothelial activation in non-obese PMOS is more closely associated with metabolic dysfunction and androgen excess than with circulating vitamin D status, while the cross-sectional design precludes inference regarding causality.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27177661","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T15:04:32Z","timestamp":1787756672000},"page":"7661","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Cross-Sectional Exploratory Study of Endothelial Biomarkers in Non-Obese Women with and Without Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Manjula","family":"Nandakumar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Department, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Medical University in Bahrain, Adliya P.O. Box 15503, Bahrain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sana","family":"Waris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Department, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Medical University in Bahrain, Adliya P.O. Box 15503, Bahrain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3544-2231","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thozhukat","family":"Sathyapalan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Academic Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Hull York Medical School, Hull HU6 7RX, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5762-3917","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexandra E.","family":"Butler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Department, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Medical University in Bahrain, Adliya P.O. Box 15503, Bahrain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5887-7257","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stephen L.","family":"Atkin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Department, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Medical University in Bahrain, Adliya P.O. Box 15503, Bahrain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"G43","DOI":"10.1093\/ejendo\/lvad096","article-title":"Recommendations from the 2023 international evidence-based guideline for the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome","volume":"189","author":"Teede","year":"2023","journal-title":"Eur. J. 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