Microvascular Aging and Eicosanoids-Women's Evaluation of Systemic Aging Tenacity ("You are never too old to become younger!") Specialized Center of Research Excellence on Sex Differences Career Enhancement Core: Building the Future.

The objective of the National Institutes of Health Office of Research in Women's Health (NIH/ORWH) Specialized Center of Research and Career Enhancement (SCORE) program is to expedite the development and application of new knowledge that affect women, to learn more about the etiology of these diseases, and to foster improved approaches to treatment and/or prevention. Each SCORE has a Career Enhancement Core (CEC) that serves to meet the career enhancement needs of translational science in the study of sex differences. The Microvascular Aging and Eicosanoids-Women's Evaluation of Systemic aging Tenacity (MAE-WEST) ("You are never too old to become younger!") Specialized Center of Research Excellence (SCORE) on Sex Differences will study pro- and anti-inflammatory responses and small vessel aging traits.

Profile of Daughters and Sisters of Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: The Role of Proband's Glucose Tolerance.

Context: First-degree relatives of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) present hormonal and metabolic alterations compared to girls unrelated to PCOS. It is unknown whether glucose intolerance in the PCOS proband confers a more severe metabolic predisposition on their first-degree relatives.

Objective: To determine whether glucose tolerance status in women with PCOS is associated with worsened glucose metabolism and sex hormone levels in their peripubertal daughters or sisters.

Effect of insulin and testosterone on androgen production and transcription of SULT2A1 in the NCI-H295R adrenocortical cell line.

Objective: To determine changes in adrenal androgen (AA) production, and transcription of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) sulfotransferase (SULT2A1) in the NCI-H295R human adrenocortical cell line in response to insulin and testosterone, an environment mimicking the polycystic ovary syndrome state.

Design: In vitro experiment using NCI-H295R adrenocortical cell lines.

Setting: Academic medical center.

Effect of sex steroids and insulin on dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate production by hepatoma G2 cells.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that DHEAS production from DHEA occurs in hepatic cells and that this production is augmented by the presence of sex steroids or insulin.

Design: In vitro prospective experiment.

Setting: Academic medical center.

Adipocytes from women with polycystic ovary syndrome demonstrate altered phosphorylation and activity of glycogen synthase kinase 3.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that an abnormality in glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) is a pathogenic factor in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Design: Prospective experimental study (adipocytes).

Setting: Tertiary-care academic medical center and teaching hospital.