Effects of the Modified Bazhen Decoction in the Treatment of Premature Ovarian Failure in Rats.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the role of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) in the pathogenesis of premature ovarian failure (POF) and the effects of the Modified Bazhen Decoction (MBD) in the treatment of POF.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four eight-week-old Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group, POF group, MBD treatment group, and Fufang Ejiao Syrup (FES) treatment group. After adaptive feeding for one week, 18 SD rats in the POF, MBD and FES groups were subcutaneously injected with D-galactose (dissolved in saline) at the back of neck for eight weeks (150 mg/kg/day) to establish the POF model. Six SD rats in the control group received equal volumes of subcutaneous injection of saline. Tail blood was collected, and the concentration of follicle stimulating hormones (FSHs) and estradiol (E2) was measured, in order to evaluate the success of the POF model. SD rats in the MBD and FES treatment groups were intragastrically administered with MBD (10 ml/kg/day) and FES (10 ml/kg/day), respectively. Rats in the control and POF groups were intragastrically administered with saline (10 ml/kg/day). After four weeks of intragastrical administration with different medicines and saline, ovarian tissues were collected; and the expression level of XIAP, miR-23a and miR-27a were measured and compared among different groups.

RESULTS: Compared with the control group, XIAP expression was significantly lower, and miR-23a and miR-27a expression significantly higher in the POF group. Furthermore, XIAP expression was significantly higher, and miR-23a and miR-27a expression was significantly lower in the MBD group.

CONCLUSION: XIAP is involved in the regulation of oocyte and granulosa cells via the cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase (caspase) pathway, and plays an important role in POF. MBD can dramatically activate XIAP, but inhibit the expression of miR-23a and miR-27a; preventing the apoptosis of oocyte and granulosa cells. Our study suggests that MBD may be a useful traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of POF.