Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine and metabolic disorder in women of childbearing age. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Chitosan/Alginate-loaded Astragalus hamosus extract (Chn/Al-AH) on the histology of Ovaries and uterus, miRNA-222, ESR1, and IRS1 genes expression, pro-inflammatory cytokines, lipid profiles, sex hormone levels in rats with PCOS induced by estradiol valerate (EV).

Methods: 25 female Wistar rats, with an average weight of 180 g, were divided into control and PCOS groups. The PCOS model was induced by a single intramuscular injection of EV (4 mg/kg). After 28 days of PCOS induction, the rats were orally administered Chn/Al-AH at doses of 5, 10, and 15 mg/kg. Following four weeks of treatment, histological changes in ovaries and uterus, serum sex hormone levels, lipid profile, pro-inflammatory cytokines, body weight, and the expression of miRNA-222, ESR1, and IRS1 genes were evaluated.

Results: Chn/Al-AH hydrogels were successfully synthesized, and physicochemical properties confirmed their properties. Healthy follicles with normal morphologies at different stages of development were observed in the control group. EV-induced PCOS rats exhibited an increase in cystic follicles and endometrial hyperplasia, a decrease in follicular clusters and corpus luteum, a significant increase in body weight, abnormal lipid profiles, elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, altered sex hormone levels, upregulation of miRNA-222 expression, and downregulation of ESR1 and IRS1 genes expression. Treatment with Chn/Al-AH at all doses showed a decrease in cystic follicles, LH/FSH ratio, estrogen, testosterone, insulin, TNF-α, IL-6, LDL, VLDL, triglyceride, cholesterol, and miRNA-222 expression and an increase in corpus luteum, progesterone, HDL, and ESR1 and IRS1 expression in comparison with the PCOS group. LH, FSH, and IL-18 levels were not altered significantly after treatment.

Discussion: Applying Chn/Al-AH exhibited ameliorative effects on the PCOS rats, restoring both endocrine and metabolic abnormalities to normal levels and attenuating complications in EV-induced PCOS rats. Notably, it significantly reduced miRNA-222 expression and promoted follicular development at various stages while reducing cystic follicles and increasing corpus luteum formation.

Conclusions: Chn/Al-AH was found to have beneficial effects in attenuating and improving certain complications in the PCOS rat models.

Keywords: Polycystic ovary syndrome, Astragalus hamosus, biomedical effects, miRNA 222, Rat,