School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, NSW, Australia.
School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, NSW, Australia; Reproductive Health Centre, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2019 Jan 30;229:97-103. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2018.09.006. Epub 2018 Sep 5.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a complex endocrine and reproductive disorder. A main hallmark includes increased androgen production. The root of Paeonia lactiflora Pall. (Bai Shao) is used in Chinese herbal medicine for reproductive disorders, however its effects and mechanisms on ovarian theca cells has not yet been fully elucidated.
The aim of this study was to evaluate effect of paeoniflorin extract (PFE), the main constituents of Bai Shao, on androgen production in ovarian theca cells.
Primary murine theca cells were treated with concentrations of PFE (1-100 µg/mL) in the presence of dexamethasone (10 µM) with media-only treated cells used as the control. After 24 h, culture media was collected for biochemistry assays of testosterone and progesterone. Expression of key steroidogenic enzymes, cholesterol side-chain cleavage (CYP11A1) and 17α-hydroxylase (CYP17A1) was characterized using immunofluorescence staining, immunoblotting and qRT-PCR.
Dexamethasone significantly enhanced testosterone secretion (P < 0.05 vs. the control cells). PFE reversed over-production of testosterone induced by dexamethasone in a dose-dependent manner. The treatment with PFE also normalized production of progesterone in dexamethasone-treated cells. Expression of CYP11A1 and CYP17A1 in the theca cells were visualised by immunofluorescence staining. All doses of PFE significantly inhibited CYP17A1 expression detected by immunoblotting, but only 100 µg/mL of PFE downregulated CYP11A1 expression and reduced CYP11A1 significantly in dexamethasone-treated theca cells.
PFE may reduce over-secretion of testosterone in theca cells through downregulation of CYP17A1 and CYP11A1. These findings provide scientific evidence to treat ovarian hyperandrogenism with the root of Paeonia lactiflora Pall.
多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS）是一种复杂的内分泌和生殖障碍。主要标志之一是雄激素产生增加。白芍（Bai Shao）的根在中国草药中用于治疗生殖障碍，但它对卵巢膜细胞的作用和机制尚未完全阐明。
本研究旨在评估白芍提取物（PFE），即白芍的主要成分，对卵巢膜细胞雄激素产生的影响。
用浓度为 1-100μg/mL 的 PFE 处理原代小鼠膜细胞，在存在地塞米松（10μM）的情况下，用仅用培养基处理的细胞作为对照。24 小时后，收集培养基进行生物化学检测，以测定睾酮和孕酮。使用免疫荧光染色、免疫印迹和 qRT-PCR 来描述关键类固醇生成酶，胆固醇侧链裂解酶（CYP11A1）和 17α-羟化酶（CYP17A1）的表达。
地塞米松显著增强了睾酮的分泌（P<0.05 与对照细胞相比）。PFE 以剂量依赖性方式逆转了地塞米松诱导的睾酮过度产生。PFE 的治疗还使地塞米松处理细胞中孕酮的产生正常化。免疫荧光染色显示膜细胞中 CYP11A1 和 CYP17A1 的表达。所有剂量的 PFE 均显著抑制 CYP17A1 的表达，通过免疫印迹检测，但只有 100μg/mL 的 PFE 下调了 CYP11A1 的表达，并减少了地塞米松处理的膜细胞中 CYP11A1 的表达。
PFE 可能通过下调 CYP17A1 和 CYP11A1 来减少膜细胞中睾酮的过度分泌。这些发现为用白芍根治疗卵巢高雄激素血症提供了科学证据。
