Naringenin, a Flavonoid, Modulates Gut Microbiome and Ameliorates Hormone Levels to Improve Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Letrozole-induced Rats

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common female endocrinopathy, which severely affect the menstruation and fertility of patients. Naringenin, a natural flavanone, has emerged as a potential therapeutic agent for the management a variety of diseases. However, the underlying mechanism of naringenin in anti‑PCOS is unclear. This study was focused on investigating the effects of naringenin on body weight, ovarian tissue, serum hormone level, glucose metabolism level and gut microbiome in letrozole-induced PCOS model rats.Methods: First, we administered letrozole gavage to 10-week-old SD female rats for 4 weeks to induce PCOS rats model, the estrus cycle was observed through the vaginal smear of rats to determine the establishment successful of a PCOS rat model. Then, the successfully modeled PCOS rats were treated with naringenin for 2 months. Finally, observed the changes of rat body weight, ovarian tissue, serum hormone level, glucose metabolism level and gut microbiome after naringenin treatment. Results: The naringenin treatment ameliorate the hormone levels, such testosterone (T), estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), improve insulin resistance and the ovarian tissue pathological changes, reduced body weight in the PCOS model rat. Meanwhile, through the detection of rDNA in the faeces of the PCOS model rat, we found some beneficial microbes such [Ruminococcus], Faecalibacterium, Butyricimonas, Lachnospira, Parabacteroides, Butyricicoccus and Roseburia were enrichment in naringenin group when compared with the PCOS rats. Conclusions: In summary, our results indicated that naringenin could play an anti-PCOS role, and its mechanism may be closely related to regulating the beneficial microbes of gut microbiome. Our research could provide a new perspective for the treatment of PCOS and its related disease.

Glucagonoma without glucagonoma syndrome

Introduction. Glucagonomas are rare, frequently malignant tumours, arising from the Langerhans' islets of the pancreas. They usually secrete large amounts of glucagon that can cause a characteristic 'glucagonoma syndrome', which includes necrolytic migratory erythema, glucose intolerance or diabetes, weight loss and sometimes, normochromic normocytic anaemia, stomatitis or cheilitis, diarrhoea or other digestive symptoms, thoromboembolism, hepatosplenomegaly, depression or other psychiatric and paraneoplastic symptoms. In certain cases, some or all glucagonoma symptoms may appear late, or even may be completely absent. Case Outline. The authors present a 43-year-old woman in whom an investigation for abdominal pain revealed a tumour of the body of the pancreas. During operation, the tumour of the body of the pancreas extending to the mesentery measuring 85?55?55 mm was excised. Histology and immunohistochemistry showed malignant glucagonoma, with co-expression of somatostatin in about 5% and pancreatic polypeptide in a few tumour cells. The recovery was uneventful. The patient stayed symptom-free with no signs of local recurrence or distant diseases 15 years after surgery. Conclusion. Glucagonoma syndrome may be absent in glucagonoma tumour patients so that in unclear pancreatic tumours the clinician should frequently request the serum hormone level (including glucagon) measurement by radioimmunoassay and the pathologist should perform immunohistochemistry investigation. Those two would probably result in discovery of more glucagonomas and other neuroendocrine tumours without characteristic clinical syndromes.