Evidence Hub

Metformin therapy in a hyperandrogenic anovulatory mutant murine model with polycystic ovarian syndrome characteristics improves oocyte maturity during superovulation

M. Sabatini, Lankai Guo, M. P. Lynch, J. Doyle, Hojoon Lee, B. Rueda, A. Styer

Journal of Ovarian Research, 2011

22 citations

Abstract

BackgroundMetformin, an oral biguanide traditionally used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, is widely used for the management of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)-related anovulation. Because of the significant prevalence of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance in PCOS patients, and their putative role in ovulatory dysfunction, the use of metformin was touted as a means to improve ovulatory function and reproductive outcomes in PCOS patients. To date, there has been inconsistent evidence to demonstrate a favorable effect of metformin on oocyte quality and competence in women with PCOS. Given the heterogeneous nature of this disorder, we hypothesized that metformin may be beneficial in mice with aberrant metabolic characteristics similar to a significant number of PCOS patients. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the in vitro and in vivo effects of metformin on oocyte development and ovulatory function.MethodsWe utilized metformin treatment in the transgenic ob/ob and db/db mutant murine models which demonstrate metabolic and reproductive characteristics similar to women with PCOS. Results: Metformin did not improve in vitro oocyte maturation nor did it have an appreciable effect on in vitro granulosa cell luteinization ( progesterone production) in any genotype studied. Although both mutant strains have evidence of hyperandrogenemia, anovulation, and hyperinsulinemia, only db/db mice treated with metformin had a greater number of mature oocytes and total…

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free