Quercetin modulates ovarian autophagy-related molecules and stereological parameters in a rat model of PCOS

Abstract

Objective: To examine the effect of quercetin on stereological parameters and autophagy-related genes in ovaries of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) rats. Methods: Fifty female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: the control group, the ethanol group, the quercetin group (15 mg/kg/day), the PCOS group, as well as the PCOS + quercetin group. After the induction of PCOS, quercetin was administered orally for 30 days. Histological, stereological and real-time PCR analyses were carried out to evaluate the effect of quercetin on PCOS rats. Results: Stereological analysis revealed that quercetin significantly increased the number of ovarian follicles and the volume of corpus luteum and induced a significant decrease in atretic follicles in comparison to the PCOS group. In addition, quercetin markedly increased mTOR gene expression while decreasing Beclin-1 and LC3 gene expression. Conclusions: Quercetin strongly modulates the expression of ovarian autophagy-related genes and stereological parameters in PCOS rats. Therefore, it can be considered as an ameliorative component for ovarian follicular impairments.

Keywords

Quercetin / Autophagy pathway / mTOR / Beclin-1 / LC3 / Ovarian follicles / Polycystic ovary syndrome

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Nasrin Shokrpour at the Research Consultation Center of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences for her invaluable assistance in editing this manuscript.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Funding

This work was supported by the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (grant number: 10774).

Authors’ contributions

AN and F Koohpeyma performed the experimental studies, analyzed the stereological data, and prepared the first draft of the manuscript. AN and MJK performed the data gathering and statistical analysis of the molecular section. FZ and F Karimi developed the study design and edited the manuscript. FZ guaranteed and supervised the study and data acquisition.

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