Size polymorphisms of the androgen receptor among female hispanics and correlation with androgenic characteristics

Objective: To determine whether trinucleotide repeat polymorphisms of the androgen receptor gene correlate with androgenic measures in female Hispanics. Methods: We studied 110 human volunteers from an endocrine and infertility clinic. Measures of androgenism including Ferriman Gallwey scores, waist-hip ratios, and body mass index (BMI) were correlated with the number of trinucleotide repeats of base sequence cytosine, adenine, and guanine in the androgen receptor gene. Serum testosterone was measured. Genomic DNA was obtained from leukocytes; amplification of the repeat region of the androgen receptor gene was performed and the products sized on an acrylamide gel. Results: Trinucleotide repeats within our population ranged from 12–27, with a normal distribution. The number of repeats did not correlate with Ferriman Gallwey score or BMI, but correlated positively with waist-hip ratios (n = 54; r = 0.39, P = .028). Normoandrogenic patients with idiopathic hirsutism showed an inverse relation between Ferriman Gallwey score and repeat size (n = 16; r = –0.60, P = .014). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that androgenism may be mildly influenced by the molecular characteristics of the androgen receptor.