Yang Qin, Wan Qin, Wang Zhen
Department of Endocrinology, The people's Hospital of Leshan, Leshan, 614000, Sichuan, China.
Department of Endocrinology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Taiping Street 25, Jiangyang District, Luzhou, 646000, Sichuan, China.
Sci Rep. 2024 Dec 2;14(1):29848. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-81034-5.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine-metabolic disorder closely associated with chronic inflammation. Curcumin, a polyphenolic lipophilic compound, has been shown to improve the intestinal mucosal barrier and reduce low-grade systemic inflammation. This study aimed to assess the effects of curcumin on attenuation of PCOS in a mouse model and to explore the underlying mechanisms involved. C57BL/6J mice were divided into 4 groups (n = 15 per group): CON: control group, CON/CUR: CON with curcumin group, MOD: model group, MOD/CUR: MOD with curcumin group. The MOD and MOD/CUR groups were injected with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) (6 mg/100 g BW) dissolved in soybean oil to induce a PCOS-like state. After curcumin intervention (200 mg/kg) for 45 days, the mice were euthanized for analysis of various physiological and biochemical parameters. In MOD/CUR group, significant decreases in body weight (BW) (p = 0.0254), testosterone (T) levels (p = 0.0052), luteinizing hormone (LH) levels (p = 0.0438), and the LH/follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (p = 0.0271) levels were observed, while estradiol (E2) (p = 0.0415) level and insulin sensitivity (p = 0.0441) were increased. Histological examination (HE) staining of ovarian and colon tissues showed that curcumin ameliorated both PCOS-associated morphological changes and colon tissue pathology. Western blot and immunohistochemistry analyses of colon tissues revealed increased levels of tight junction proteins, ZO-1 (Western blot, p = 0.0360; immunohistochemistry, p = 0.0273) and occluding (Western blot, p = 0.0189; immunohistochemistry, p = 0.0224) in the MOD/CUR group. Additionally, inflammatory indicators from plasma and ovary, including IL-17 A (plasma, p = 0.0120; ovary, p = 0.0414), IL-6 (plasma, p = 0.0344; ovary, p = 0.0379), TNF-α (plasma, p = 0.0078; ovary, p = 0.0488), and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) (plasma, p = 0.0144), were decreased, while IL-10 (plasma, p = 0.0270; ovary, p = 0.0267) was increased in MOD/CUR group. The levels of NF-κB p65 (p = 0.0229), TLR-4 (p = 0.0462) and MyD88 (p = 0.0152) in ovarian tissues were significantly increased in MOD/CUR group. Our results revealed that curcumin alleviates PCOS by inhibiting TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway activation and reducing intestinal mucosal permeability. These findings suggest that curcumin may provide a potential clinical approach for managing PCOS.
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