Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Hochu-Ekki-to Treatment Improves Reproductive and Immune Modulation in the Stress-Induced Rat Model of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Eunkuk Park
ORCID logo ,
Chun Whan Choi
,
Soo Jeong Kim
,
Yong-In Kim
,
Samkee Sin
,
Jong-Phil Chu
,
Jun Young Heo
* ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 8 May 2017 / Approved: 9 May 2017 / Online: 9 May 2017 (04:11:56 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Park, E.; Choi, C.W.; Kim, S.J.; Kim, Y.-I.; Sin, S.; Chu, J.-P.; Heo, J.Y. Hochu-ekki-to Treatment Improves Reproductive and Immune Modulation in the Stress-Induced Rat Model of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Molecules 2017, 22, 978. Park, E.; Choi, C.W.; Kim, S.J.; Kim, Y.-I.; Sin, S.; Chu, J.-P.; Heo, J.Y. Hochu-ekki-to Treatment Improves Reproductive and Immune Modulation in the Stress-Induced Rat Model of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Molecules 2017, 22, 978.

Abstract

The traditional herbal medicine, Hochu-ekki-to, has been shown to have preventive effects on viral infection and stress. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical effects of Hochu-ekki-to on two stress-related rat models of polycystic ovarian syndrome. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control and treatment groups, the latter of which were subjected to stress induced by exposure to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) or cold temperatures. After these stress inductions, rats were orally treated with dissolved Hochu-ekki-to once per day for 7 days. Rats subjected to the two different stressors exhibited upregulation of steroid hormone receptors (in ovaries) and reproductive hormones (in blood), and consequent stimulation of abnormal follicle development accompanied by elevation of Hsp 90 expression (in ovaries). Treatment with Hochu-ekki-to for 7 days after stress induction increased immune functions, reduced the stress-induced activation of Hsp 90, and normalized the levels of the tested steroid hormone receptors and reproductive hormones. Our findings suggest that stress stimulations may promote the activation of Hsp 90 via the dysregulation of steroid hormone receptors and reproductive hormones, but that post-stress treatment with Hochu-ekki-to improves reproductive and immune functions in the ovaries of stressed rats.

Keywords

Hochu-ekki-to; immune modulation; polycystic ovarian syndrome

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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