Toll-like Receptor 4 Contributes to PCOS-like Metabolic and Reproductive Pathogenesis.

ABSTRACT: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a reproductive disorder with heterogeneous symptoms and severity. Despite extensive research documenting chronic immune dysfunction as a hallmark of PCOS, the specific molecular mechanisms driving immune activation and its connection to the syndrome's diverse symptoms remain poorly understood. Emerging evidence suggests that gut-derived bacterial endotoxins, particularly lipopolysaccharide (LPS), may breach the intestinal barriers in PCOS patients and trigger systemic inflammation through Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), a pattern recognition receptor of the innate immune system. This study investigated whether TLR4 serves as a critical mechanistic driver of PCOS pathogenesis by examining the effect of genetic TLR4 knockout (TLR4^-/-) in a letrozol

SUBMITTER: Wiggins K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12632965 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature