Association between CD16++ monocytes in peripheral blood and clinical features and short-term therapeutic effects of polycystic ovary syndrome.

<bold>Objective: </bold>To evaluate the association between CD16++ monocytes in peripheral blood and the clinical features and short-term therapeutic effects of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).<bold>Methods: </bold>This prospective cross-sectional study included women diagnosed with PCOS at a University Hospital in Shanghai, China, between June 4 and November 28, 2016. Patients received Diane-35, metformin, or both combined for 3 months. We collected anthropometric measures and used flow cytometry to detect CD16++ monocytes.<bold>Results: </bold>The final analysis included 70 patients: 18 in the Diane-35 group, 30 in the metformin group, and 22 in the Diane-35 plus metformin group. The control group comprised 60 women without PCOS. The proportion of CD16++ monocytes was significantly higher in patients with PCOS than in those with no PCOS (16.05% vs 10.73%; P=0.001). The proportion differed significantly between patients with and those without hyperandrogenism (13.12% vs 17.30%; P=0.002) and showed moderate accuracy in diagnosing hyperandrogenism before treatment. We noted a decrease in monocytes post-treatment in patients given metformin and Diane-35 plus metformin.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>The proportion of CD16++ monocytes was most significantly associated with hyperandrogenism before treatment. Our findings suggest that the proportion of CD16++ monocytes in peripheral blood might be related to the inflammatory condition of PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]