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Abstract
Background
Disruption of the balance between the production of ROS and their removal through enzymatic and non-enzymatic (antioxidant) processes has been proposed as a new mechanism in the pathology of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Evidence from animal models of PCOS (prenatally androgenized sheep) has suggested that treatment with insulin sensitizers, but not antiandrogens, can reduce increases in ROS.
Materials and methods
In the present study, we investigated the effects of neonatal treatment with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist (leuprolide acetate) on prenatally androgenized sheep with testosterone propionate to determine its impact on oxidative stress molecules (ferric reducing antioxidant power [FRAP], advanced oxidation protein product [AOPP], nitric oxide [NOx], albumin) at 8, 12, and 18 months of age.
Results
Androgenized ewes (but not leuprolide-treated ewes) showed reduced total cholesterol levels associated with a decrease in the ratio of visceral to subcutaneous adiposity (adjusted to abdominal area) as determined by computed tomography. In androgenized ewes at 12 months of age, an increase in subcutaneous fat and relative decrease in the visceral fat compartment did not affect the expression of REDOX markers. At 18 months of age, however, the levels of NOx metabolites decreased in androgenized animals, but remained close to normal in ewes subjected to neonatal treatment with leuprolide acetate. Other oxidative stress parameters (FRAP, AOPP, albumin) did not vary among groups.
Conclusion
Our results demonstrate that the GnRH agonist leuprolide (as a single dose after birth) had weak effects on markers of the oxidative stress balance.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Dr Michael Philcock, Mayo Clinic (Analyze 12.0 software license) and Prof João Francisco Coelho de Oliveira (in memoriam) for his great contribution to the design of the study. This work was supported by CAPES Foundation and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) Brazil, grant 445019/2014-0 (http://www.cnpq.br/).
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.