Nitric Oxide-Induced Polycystic Ovaries in The Wistar Rat

Background: Nitric oxide (NO) involves in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a causeof infertility in women during the reproductive age. The PCOS is now categorized as aninflammatory phenomenon. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of NO, a proinflammatoryagent, in this syndrome at histological and biochemical levels.Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, animals were female Wistar rats(weighing 200-250 g) kept under standard conditions. L-Arginine (50-200 mg/kg), a precursorof NO, was injected intra-peritoneally (i.p.) through a period ranging from 9 to14 days/once a day. The rats' estrous cycle was studied using Papanicolaou test; those showing phaseof Diestrous were grouped into experimental and control groups. The control group solelyreceived saline (1 ml/kg, i.p.) throughout all experiments. To evaluate the inflammatory effectof NO, the rats were treated an anti-inflammatory agent, naloxone hydrochloride (0.4 mg/kg,i.p.), prior to L-arginine. At the end of the treatment period all animals’ ovaries were assessedfor histopathological and histochemical investigations. Also, activation of NO synthase (NOS)in the experiments was studied using NADPH-diaphorase technique.Results: The ovaries of rats treated with L-arginine showed polycystic characteristics incontrast to those collected from control or naloxone pretreated groups, based on image analysis.A difference in enzyme activation was also shown in the sections that belonged to thegroups that received L-arginine when compared with the pre-naloxone and control groups.Conclusion: Based on these results, we believe that NO may play a major role in thepathophysiology of PCOS.