Electro-acupuncture reverses nerve growth factor abundance in experimental polycystic ovaries in the rat.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) remains one of the most common causes of anovulation in women of reproductive age. There is some evidence that nerve growth factor (NGF) is involved in the pathogenesis of PCOS. Therefore, seeking the pathogenesis of PCOS is important for controlling fertility. In traditional Oriental Medicine, acupuncture has been used for the function of ovaries. The present study was designed to determine whether electro-acupuncture (EA) could affect experimentally induced polycystic ovary (PCO) in the rat. The two acupoints Sp-6 and E-128 were stimulated to test for efficacy in the protein expression of NGF. Polycystic ovaries were induced by a single injection of estradiol valerate (4 mg i.m.). During the experimental period of 8 weeks, some of the rats were treated with EA twice weekly; this group was compared with a vehicle-treated control group and an estradiol-injected group not subjected to EA. At day 60, the protein expression of NGF was examined by immunohistochemistry in the ovaries, the adrenal glands and some parts of the brain. The estradiol treatment induced a clear PCO appearance, and was associated with a robust increase in NGF expression in the ovaries, the adrenal glands and the brain. EA treatment partly reversed the NGF abundance, particularly in the ovaries, but not in the brain. Our data show that EA affects the NGF involvement in ovarian dysfunction.
Bai
Young Hoon
YH
Research Division of Biological Science, Chosun University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea.
Lim
Sung Chul
SC
Song
Chang Hun
CH
Bae
Chun Sik
CS
Jin
Cheon Sik
CS
Choi
Bum Chae
BC
Jang
Chul Ho
CH
Lee
Seung Hoo
SH
Pak
Sok Cheon
SC
D000818:Animals; D015671:Electroacupuncture / Q000379:methods; D004958:Estradiol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000633:toxicity; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D004958:Estradiol; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor