Effect of sodium aescinate treatment on PCOS rat model with insulin resistance

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Recent studies indicated that insulin resistance may contribute to the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS); however, the specific mechanism is still unclear. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of sodium aescinate (SA) on PCOS-IR rat models. METHODS: Sixty rats were randomly divided into the five groups: un-treated rats (n = 12), PCOS-IR group (n = 12), PCOS-IR group plus 50 mg/kg SA (n = 12), PCOS-IR group plus 10 mg/kg SA (n = 12), PCOS-IR group plus 150 mg/kg metformin (n = 12). On day 21, rats were sacrificed, and H&E staining was performed for histopathologic examination of the ovaries; moreover, the serum level of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone, and luteotropic hormone (LH) were measured, and the expression as well as phosphorylation of PI3K, Akt and Gsk-3ß were examined using western blot assay. RESULTS: High dosage of SA treatment improved the morphological features of the ovaries in PCOS rats, and also induced significant decrease in serum expression of testosterone and LH/FSH ratio and significant decrease in the expression of p-PI3K, p-Akt and p-Gsk-3ß. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that SA treatment could alleviate the symptom of PCOS in rat model through regulating the PI3K/Akt/GSK3-ß pathway.