title: Electro-acupuncture reverses nerve growth factor abundance in experimental polycystic ovaries in the rat.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Research Division of Biological Science, Chosun University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Hoon
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Sung Chul
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Chang Hun
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Chun Sik
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.forename: Cheon Sik
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Bum Chae
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Chul Ho
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Seung Hoo
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sok Cheon
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Pak
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D004958:Estradiol; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor