Abbasi Mohammad Reza, Jamshidian Javad, Basir Zahra, Tabandeh Mohammad Reza
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
Cell J. 2024 May 7;26(4):259-266. doi: 10.22074/cellj.2024.2022353.1504.
Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is one female reproductive disorder that can occur after administration of injectable hormonal drugs to stimulate ovulation. Betaine (BET) is an intracellular biomolecule with anti-inflammatory and tissue protective effects. There is no information about its effects in an experimental model of OHSS. The current study aims to investigate the possible effects of BET on abnormal expressions of vasoconstrictor proteins and ovarian histological changes in an experimental OHSS rat model.
In this experimental study, 30 adult female rats (two months old) were randomly divided into six groups (n=5 per group): i. Control, ii. OHSS [10 IU sc equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) for 4 days followed by 30 IU sc human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) on the fifth day], iii. OHSS+BET (200 mg/kg/day, orally for seven days), iv. OHSS+Cabergoline (CAB, 100 mg/kg/day, orally for six days), v. BET, and vi. CAB. Expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and blood levels of oestradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) were measured at the end of the experiment. The ovaries were studied for histomorphological changes.
Induction of OHSS altered tissue histology, including an increase in the number of corpora lutea and atretic follicles, and decreased the number of follicular reserves. In this group, we observed increased expressions of the VEGF and COX-2 proteins, and increased serum E2 and P4 levels. Administration of CAB and BET significantly attenuated all molecular and histological alterations observed in the OHSS animals.
Our findings, for first time, indicate the beneficial effects of BET to reduce OHSS complications in patients by reducing the expressions of vasoactive proteins and improving changes to the ovarian tissues. The findings are similar to CAB and can be a new avenue for future research on BET.
卵巢过度刺激综合征（OHSS）是一种女性生殖系统疾病，可在注射促排卵激素药物后发生。甜菜碱（BET）是一种具有抗炎和组织保护作用的细胞内生物分子。目前尚无关于其在OHSS实验模型中作用的相关信息。本研究旨在探讨BET对实验性OHSS大鼠模型中血管收缩蛋白异常表达及卵巢组织学变化的可能影响。
在本实验研究中，30只成年雌性大鼠（2月龄）被随机分为6组（每组n = 5）：i. 对照组；ii. OHSS组[皮下注射10 IU马绒毛膜促性腺激素（eCG），连续4天，第5天皮下注射30 IU人绒毛膜促性腺激素（hCG）]；iii. OHSS + BET组（200 mg/kg/天，口服7天）；iv. OHSS + 卡麦角林（CAB，100 mg/kg/天，口服6天）；v. BET组；vi. CAB组。实验结束时检测血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）、环氧合酶 - 2（COX - 2）的表达水平以及雌二醇（E2）和孕酮（P4）的血药浓度。对卵巢进行组织形态学变化研究。
诱导OHSS改变了组织学结构，包括黄体和闭锁卵泡数量增加，卵泡储备数量减少。在该组中，我们观察到VEGF和COX - 2蛋白表达增加，血清E2和P4水平升高。给予CAB和BET可显著减轻OHSS动物中观察到的所有分子和组织学改变。
我们的研究结果首次表明，BET通过降低血管活性蛋白的表达和改善卵巢组织变化，对减轻OHSS患者并发症具有有益作用。这些结果与CAB相似，可为未来BET的研究提供新途径。
