Abstract

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age with anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) two to three times higher, but the mechanism of increased AMH, excessive follicles and follicle stagnation in PCOS still needs further research.

Methods: Female Sprague–Dawley rats were treated with a gavage of 1.0 mg/kg of letrozole carboxymethylcellulose solution once daily for 21 consecutive days. Serum steroid concentrations, ovarian morphology, ovarian expression of AMH and AMH-RII protein were determined and their relationships were studied.

Results: According to the morphology and endocrinology, the letrozole model group was a successful PCOS model. Serum AMH and ovarian local expression of AMH and AMH-RII were both increased in letrozole model group. The elevated AMH had a positive correlation with T, growing follicle count and a negative correlation with body weight.

Conclusions: The letrozole model group is a good animal model for the study of AMH in PCOS patients with obesity or insulin resistance. The increased serum AMH level in PCOS is the consequence of the androgen-induced excess of small antral follicles. These results lead to the hypothesis that reducing AMH may become a therapeutic target of PCOS, which is worth further research.

Chinese abstract

多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS）是育龄期女性常见的内分泌疾病，其抗苗勒管激素(AMH)升高两到三倍，但PCOS的高AMH水平、卵泡过多和停滞发育的机制仍需要进一步的研究。雌性SD大鼠用来曲唑羧甲基纤维素钠溶液灌胃，1毫克/公斤，每日一次，连续21天。测定血清类固醇的浓度，卵巢形态，卵巢AMH和AMH-RⅡ蛋白质表达，研究了其相互关系。根据形态和内分泌，来曲唑组是一个成功的PCOS模型。血清AMH及卵巢局部AMH和AMH-RⅡ蛋白质表达都在来曲唑模型组上升。AMH上升与T、生长卵泡数呈正相关，与体重呈负相关。来曲唑模型是研究肥胖或胰岛素抵抗PCOS患者的AMH的一种好的动物模型。PCOS血清AMH上升是雄激素引起的小窦卵泡过多的结果。这些结果提示，降低AMH可能成为多囊卵巢综合征的治疗目标，值得进一步研究。