The melatonin receptor genes are linked and associated with the risk of polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a genetically complex disorder that involves the interplay of multiple genes and environmental factors. It is characterized by anovulation and irregular menses and is associated with type 2 diabetes. Neuroendocrine pathways and ovarian and adrenal dysfunctions are possibly implicated in the disorder pathogenesis. The melatonin system plays a role in PCOS. Melatonin receptors are expressed on the surface of ovarian granulosa cells, and variations in the melatonin receptor genes have been associated with increased risk of PCOS in both familial and sporadic cases. We have recently reported the association of variants in MTNR1A and MTNR1B genes with familial type 2 diabetes. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether MTNR1A and MTNR1B contribute to PCOS risk in peninsular families. In 212 Italian families phenotyped for PCOS, we amplified by microarray 14 variants in the MTNR1A gene and 6 variants in the MTNR1B gene and tested them for linkage and linkage disequilibrium with PCOS. We detected 4 variants in the MTNR1A gene and 2 variants in the MTNR1B gene significantly linked and/or in linkage disequilibrium with the risk of PCOS (P < 0.05). All variants are novel and have not been reported before with PCOS or any of its related phenotypes, except for 3 variants previously reported by us to confer risk for type 2 diabetes and 1 variant for type 2 diabetes-depression comorbidity. These findings implicate novel melatonin receptor genes’ variants in the risk of PCOS with potential functional roles.