AsianScientist (Feb. 26, 2016) – Brown fat, which has been touted to help in weight loss and diabetes management, has now also been shown to alleviate symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Working with rats with experimentally-induced PCOS, a team of researchers led by Professor Jin Wanzhu at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Chen Zijiang at Shandong University, found that brown adipose tissue (BAT) transplantation helped to stabilize menstrual irregularity and improve systemic insulin sensitivity. Their results have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
PCOS is a condition characterized by the growth of multiple cysts on the ovaries. Thought to be due to hormonal imbalances, PCOS can cause weight gain, irregular periods and other fertility problems in women. Affecting between 5-20 percent of all women, it is one of the leading causes of poor fertility and cannot be cured.
Although the causes of PCOS are not well understood, PCOS patients are known to have abnormal adipose tissue function linked to metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance.
“In our previous study, we found that BAT could improve insulin resistance in high fat diet-induced obesity mice. Thus, we hypothesized that increasing BAT mass and/or function could ameliorate PCOS by improving insulin resistance,” Jin explained to Asian Scientist Magazine.
The researchers first induced PCOS in rats by injecting dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a male hormone precursor. In addition to the expected estrous cycle disruption, they found that DHEA-injected rats also had dramatically reduced levels of BAT activity, as determined by positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT).
When 0.5g of BAT was transplanted into DHEA-injected rats, anovulation, hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovaries were all reversed. In contrast, transplantation of muscle tissue had no such effect.
“BAT transplantation increased the activity of endogenous BAT which secreted a series of batokines such as FGF21, IL6 and adiponectin etc. Our results provide evidence that adiponectin plays an important role in improving insulin resistance of PCOS rats and ultimately ameliorates symptoms of PCOS,” Jin said.
While acknowledging that BAT transplantation remains far from clinical applications at the moment, Jin and his team nonetheless are planning clinical trials to study the effects of drugs that activate BAT activity in women with PCOS.
The article can be found at: Yuan et al. (2016) Brown Adipose Tissue Transplantation Ameliorates Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
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Copyright: Asian Scientist Magazine; Photo: Shutterstock.
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