PEA15 and hyperandrogenism: Although further studies are mandatory, involving also different apoptotic pathways or inflammatory cytokines and PCOS granulosa cells, the correlations between 25(OH)D, PED/PEA-15 protein abundance, L/A ratio, and hyperandrogenism in our sample of PCOS women, with high insulin and low 25(OH)D levels as the main determinants of PED/PEA-15 protein abundance, suggested the involvement of all these variables in the imbalance between pro-and anti-apoptotic factors responsible for the increased follicular atresia in PCOS.