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¹ Department of Physiology and Biophysics and
² Department of Cellular and Development Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sao Paulo (USP),
³ Department of Nursing and
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Sciences Faculty, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil

(Requests for offprints should be addressed to C R O Carvalho, Departamento de Fisiologiae Biofísica, ICB-USP, Rua Prof. Lineu Prestes, 1524, sala 121, ICB1, Cidade Universitária, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, Brazil, 055096-900; Email: croc{at}icb.usp.br)

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) manifests as chronic anovulation, ovarian hyperandrogenism, and follicular cysts, which are amplified by insulin as well as the inability of the hormone to stimulate glucose uptake in classic target tissues such as muscle and fat. In the present study, we evaluated the regulation of the insulin-signaling pathways by using immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting in whole extracts of ovaries from non-pregnant human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)-treated rats, hyperinsulinemic-induced rats and hyperinsulinemic-induced rats, treated with hCG for 22 consecutive days. There were increased associations of insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 and IRS-2 with phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase, followed by enhanced protein kinase B (Akt) serine and threonine phosphorylation, in the ovaries of rats that were treated with hCG, either alone or with insulin. In contrast, the skeletal muscle demonstrated a reduced IRS-1/PI 3-kinase/Akt pathway in hyperinsulinemic-induced rats. These intracellular modifications were accompanied by follicular cysts, detected by optical microscopy, and increased androstenedione serum levels. In summary, our data show that chronic treatment with hCG or hCG plus insulin can induce changes in ovaries that simulate PCOS. In these situations, an increase in the insulin-induced IRS/PI 3-kinase/Akt pathway occurs in the ovary, suggesting that the activation of this pathway may have a role in the development of PCOS.

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