DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS OF HYPERANDROGENISM ON UTERINE FUNCTIONS

EVELIN MARIEL ELIA; SUSANA VIGHI; EDUARDO LOMBARDI; ALICIA BEATRIZ MOTTA

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNOPHARMACOLOGY

Elsevier

Lugar: United Kingdom; Año: 2008 vol. 8 p. 1827 - 1834

1567-5769

The aim of the present work was to study some of the adverse effects produced by hyperandrogenism on the uterine function.  Daily injection of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA: 6 mg/ 100 g body weight, sc) for 20 consecutive days induced polycystic ovaries in BALB/c mice. In this model, we found that DHEA produced alterations on uterine histology closely related to the development of tumor structures. In addition, the hyperandrogenism induced a pro-inflammatory and a pro-oxidant condition represented by increased levels of prostaglandin F2 alpha production and uterine nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and by the diminution of both superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities together with the diminution of the levels of the antioxidant metabolite glutathione (GSH). DHEA also induced the increase of CD4+ together with the decrease of CD8+ T lymphocytes that infiltrate the uterine tissue. We conclude that this intricate network of regulators could be responsible to the low rate of implantation observed in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.