REVIEW article
Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Cancer Endocrinology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1579477
BCAA Metabolism: The Achilles'Heel of Ovarian Cancer, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, and Premature Ovarian Failure
Provisionally accepted
Tian Zeng1
Yitong Liu2Xing Tang3Runshu Fu1Qing Gao1Wenchao Zhou1Jiawen Fang4Juan Zhang3
Juan Zou1
Yukun Li3*- 1University of South China, Hengyang, China
- 2Department of Pathology, Shenzhen Baoan Women's and Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, Gangdong, China., Shenzhen, Gangdong, China
- 3Department of Assisted Reproductive Centre, The affiliated Zhuzhou hospital Xiangya medical college, Central South University, Zhuzhou, Hunan, China., Zhuzhou, China
- 4School of Nursing, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, Harbin, China
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Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), including valine, leucine and isoleucine, are essential nutrient signals that influence mammalian animal metabolism. Many enzymes are involved in the metabolism of BCAAs, such as branched-chain amino acid transaminases (BCATs), branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase (BCKDH), and BCKDH kinase (BCKDK). The aberrant expression of enzymes involved in BCAA metabolism and an imbalance in BCAA amino acid intake can lead to disordered metabolism. Aberrant BCAA metabolism can lead to several diseases, such as human ovarian disease, including ovarian cancer (OC), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and premature ovarian failure (POF), which are common gynaecological diseases. The overexpression of BCATs is found in OC, which promotes BCAA catalysis to provide a large amount of energy for tumorigenesis. However, BCKDK is overexpressed in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), which promotes proliferation and migration via MEK-ERK. In addition, several studies have reported that high levels of BCAAs are increased in the plasma of PCOS and POF patients. This review focuses on the role of BCAA metabolism and potential management methods for OC, PCOS and POF.
Keywords: Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), human ovarian disease, Metabolism, Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), Premature ovarian failure (POF)
Received: 21 Feb 2025; Accepted: 10 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zeng, Liu, Tang, Fu, Gao, Zhou, Fang, Zhang, Zou and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yukun Li, Department of Assisted Reproductive Centre, The affiliated Zhuzhou hospital Xiangya medical college, Central South University, Zhuzhou, Hunan, China., Zhuzhou, China
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