Bushen Huatan recipe for treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome: therapeutic mechanism based on network pharmacology and molecular docking / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the pharmacological mechanism of Bushen Huatan (BSHT) recipe in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).@*METHODS@#The active ingredients in the component drugs of the recipe were screened through TCMSP, and their potential targets were predicted by PubChem and Swiss target prediction. Genecards and OMIM were used to screen the therapeutic targets in the treatment of PCOS. The drug targets and disease targets were corrected using Uniprot, and the intersection targets were obtained. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using STRING, and the intersection targets were analyzed with CytoNCA to screen the core targets. DAVID was used for GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, and the core components and core targets were verified using AutoDock. Animal experiment was performed to verify the results using a female C57BL/6J mouse model of PCOS, treated daily with 1 mg/kg BSHT recipe granule for 35 days, and the ovarian expressions of the core targets and pathways were detected using Western blotting.@*RESULTS@#We identified a total of 125 potential active ingredients from the 14 component drugs in the recipe, 990 drug targets, 4759 PCOS targets and 434 intersection targets. The core active ingredients of the recipe included β -Sitosterol, kaempferol, and quercetin, whose core targets included PIK3CA, PIK3R1, APP, AKT1, and MAPK1. GO enrichment analysis highlighted such processes as drug reaction, negative regulation of apoptosis, and positive regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase Ⅱ promoter. The enriched KEGG pathways included primarily the cancer pathway and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Molecular docking showed that the core active ingredients had strong binding ability with the core targets. In the animal experiment, BSHT recipe was shown to improve the symptoms, down-regulate the expressions of PI3K and Akt proteins and up-regulate MAPK1 expression in the ovary of mice with PCOS.@*CONCLUSION@#The therapeutic mechanism of BSHT recipe for PCOS involves multiple active ingredients, multiple therapeutic targets and multiple pathways.

Effect of electro-acupuncture on clinical outcomes and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in in vitro fertilization and embryo transplantation / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) on clinical outcomes and the occurrence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in in vitro fertilization and embryo transplantation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 109 patients who routinely received in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) at Reproductive Center were assigned to the control group (56 cases) and the EA group (53 cases) according to even and odd-numbered date. Patients in the control group received controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) referring to GnRH-a long protocol. On the basis of COH, those in the EA group received EA from the day of Gn injection to the day of embryo transfer. Estradiol (E2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and angiotensin (AT) II were measured in all patients on the day of hCG injection, the day of ovum pick up (OPU), and the day of embryo transfer (ET), respectively. The oocyte retrieval rate, good quality embryo rate, clinical pregnancy rate, the abortion rate, and the occurrence of OHSS were compared between the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the control group, serum E2 levels on the day of OPU and the day of ET were significantly lower in the EA group (P < 0.05). On the day of OPU levels of VEGF and IL-6 also significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Serum levels of VEGF and IL-6 reached the highest line on the day of hCG in the two groups, and then showed a decreasing trend. Compared with the control group at the same time point, serum levels of VEGF and IL-6 obviously decreased on on the day of OPU, hCG, and ET (P < 0.05). The occurrence of OHSS and the canceling rate of transplant cycle were significantly lower in the EA group than in the control group (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>EA, as an adjunctive therapy, could reduce the occurrence of OHSS in IVF. Besides, it did not decrease good embryo rates and pregnancy rates in IVF-ET, which might be associated with lowering local vascular permeability of ovaries.</p>

Semen cryopreservation applied to intrauterine insemination cycles for oligospermia and asthenospermia in infertile men / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the application value of semen cryopreservation in intrauterine insemination cycles for the treatment of oligospermia and asthenospermia in infertile males.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 152 cycles of intrauterine insemination were performed for 103 couples with constitutional infertility, which were divided into Groups 1 (normal semen, n=53), 2 (oligospermia and asthenospermia, n=52) and 3 (fresh combined with cryopreserved semen, n=47). Semen parameters and forward motile sperm count after processing were recorded by Makler chamber, and all were followed up for the outcome of clinical pregnancy.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with Group 2, Group 3 showed obviously lower semen volume, sperm motility and grade a sperm count before semen processing, with extremely significant differences (P < 0.01), but a higher rate of grade a sperm after semen processing, though with no significant differences (P > 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the pregnancy rate between Groups 2 and 3 (9.6% versus 14.9%, P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Semen cryopreservation can improve the forward motile sperm count and pregnancy rate in oligospermia and asthenospermia patients after intrauterine insemination. Semen cryopreservation combined with intrauterine insemination seems an ideal treatment for oligospermia and asthenospermia in infertile men.</p>