Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 3, 2026
Author Spotlight: Investigating the Mechanisms and Inducing Models of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Published on: July 5, 2024
Effect of sodium aescinate treatment on PCOS rat model with insulin resistance
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(and)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-3β 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-3β.
Conclusion:
Our results demonstrated that SA treatment could alleviate the symptom of PCOS in rat model through regulating the PI3K/Akt/GSK3-β pathway (Fig. 4, Ref. 22).
