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Immunity and ß-Endorphin Concentrations in Hypothalamus and Plasma in Rats with Steroid-Induced Polycystic Ovaries: Effect of Low-Frequency Electroacupuncture¹

Department of Physiology³ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,⁴ Sahlgrenska Academy, Göteborg University, SE-413 45 Göteborg, Sweden Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research,⁵ Sahlgrenska Academy, Göteborg University, SE-405 30 Göteborg, Sweden

The human endocrinological disorder polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common cause of reproductive failure. Even though the cause of PCOS is unknown, hormone and immune disturbances as well as hyperactivity in the sympathetic nervous system are likely to be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. The present study was undertaken to elucidate if rats with estradiol valerate (EV)-induced polycystic ovaries (PCO) have altered ß-endorphin concentrations in the hypothalamus and in plasma and if they have alterations in circulating immune cell populations and the activity. Repeated low-frequency (2 Hz) electroacupuncture (EA) treatments are known to modulate the release of ß-endorphin, immune responses, and the activity in the autonomic nervous system. We therefore also investigated the effect of EA treatments on the ß-endorphin and the immune systems. Low-frequency EA was given 12 times, 25 min each, over 30 days starting 2–3 days after i.m. injection of EV. The ß-endorphin concentrations in the hypothalamus and in plasma as well as the frequencies of CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells were significantly lower in EV-injected control rats as compared to oil-injected control rats. Repeated EA treatments in EV-injected rats significantly increased ß-endorphin concentrations in the hypothalamus. In conclusion, these findings show that both the ß-endorphinergic and the immune system are significantly impaired in rats with steroid-induced PCO and that repeated EA treatments can restore some of these disturbances.

¹ This study was supported by grants from Wilhelm and Martina Lundgrens's Science Fund, Jubileumsfonden, Göteborg University, Hjalmar Svensson Foundation, the Royal Society of Art and Sciences in Göteborg, and the Swedish Society of Medicine.

² Correspondence: Elisabet Stener-Victorin, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sahlgrenska, Sahlgrenska Academy, Göteborg University, SE-413 45 Göteborg, Sweden. FAX:46 34 067 6732; elsv{at}fhs.gu.se

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. Manneras, I. H. Jonsdottir, A. Holmang, M. Lonn, and E. Stener-Victorin Low-Frequency Electro-Acupuncture and Physical Exercise Improve Metabolic Disturbances and Modulate Gene Expression in Adipose Tissue in Rats with Dihydrotestosterone-Induced Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Endocrinology, July 1, 2008; 149(7): 3559 - 3568. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Manneras, S. Cajander, A. Holmang, Z. Seleskovic, T. Lystig, M. Lonn, and E. Stener-Victorin A New Rat Model Exhibiting Both Ovarian and Metabolic Characteristics of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Endocrinology, August 1, 2007; 148(8): 3781 - 3791. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]