The Effects of Exercise on Expression of CYP19 and StAR mRNA in Steroid-Induced Polycystic Ovaries of Female Rats

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most frequent female endocrine disorder that affects 5-10% of women. PCOS is characterized by hyperandrogenism, oligo-/anovulation, and polycystic ovaries. The aim of the present research is to evaluate the expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) and aromatase (CYP19) mRNA in the ovaries of an estradiol valerate (EV)-induced PCOS rat model, and the effect of treadmill and running wheel (voluntary) exercise on these parameters.
In this experimental study, we divided adult female Wistar rats that weighed approximately 220 ± 20 g initially into control (n=10) and PCOS (n=30). Subsequently, PCOS group were divided to PCOS, PCOS with treadmill exercise (P-ExT), and PCOS with running wheel exercise (P-ExR) groups (n=10 per group). The expressions of StAR and CYP19 mRNA in the ovaries were determined by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA using SPSS software, version 16. The data were assessed at α=0.05.
There was significantly lower mRNA expression of CYP19 in the EV-induced PCOS, running wheel and treadmill exercise rats compared to the control group (P EV-induced PCOS in rats decreased CYP19 mRNA expression, but had no effect on StAR mRNA expression. We demonstrated that running wheel and moderate treadmill exercise could not modify CYP19 and StAR mRNA expressions.