Spirulina versus metformin for controlling some insulin signaling pathway genes in induced polycystic ovary syndrome rat model

Asmaa A El Leithy; Mohamed Abozaid; Ahmed A Al-Karmalawy; Rasha Mahmoud Allam; Anas Zakarya Nourelden; Rodina M Amer; Nesreen H Abd El Azeem; Faten Sabra Abo-Zeid

doi:10.1016/j.gene.2024.148524

Spirulina versus metformin for controlling some insulin signaling pathway genes in induced polycystic ovary syndrome rat model

Gene. 2024 May 11:921:148524. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2024.148524. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Asmaa A El Leithy¹, Mohamed Abozaid², Ahmed A Al-Karmalawy³, Rasha Mahmoud Allam⁴, Anas Zakarya Nourelden⁵, Rodina M Amer⁶, Nesreen H Abd El Azeem⁶, Faten Sabra Abo-Zeid⁷

Affiliations

¹ College of Biotechnology, Misr University for Science and Technology (MUST), Giza, Egypt. Electronic address: asmaa.elleithy@must.edu.eg.
² Department of Medical Genetics & Genomics School of Medicine, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
³ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Horus University-Egypt, New Damietta 34518, Egypt; Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ahram Canadian University, 12566, 6th of October City, Giza, Egypt. Electronic address: akarmalawy@horus.edu.eg.
⁴ Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Biostatistics National Cancer Institute, Cairo University (CU), Cairo, Egypt.
⁵ Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
⁶ College of Biotechnology, Misr University for Science and Technology (MUST), Giza, Egypt.
⁷ Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

PMID: 38735598
DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2024.148524

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent endocrinologic and gynecologic disorder that affects women of reproductive age; besides, insulin resistance (IR) occurs in 50-70 % of PCOS cases. Metformin (Met) is commonly prescribed for IR management; however, it does not affect IR with some gastrointestinal symptoms. Spirulina platensis (SP) is a blue-green alga that may increase insulin sensitivity. Therefore, our study aims to evaluate SP as an alternative treatment to Met for improving glucose homeostasis by assessing the expression of 11 crucial genes involved in the insulin signaling pathway. After induction of the PCOS model using dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) (60 mg/kg bwt) for 30 consecutive days, rats were allocated into six groups. Relative liver weight, glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) serum levels, glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), and insulin were determined. Furthermore, the gene expression of Ins1, Irs1, Pik3ca, Prkcz, Foxo1, Srebf1, Ppargc1a, Pklr, Gk, G6pc, and Pepck in the rat's liver tissue was determined using qRT-PCR. Treatment of the PCOS control group with Met or SP revealed a decrease in all these parameters compared with the PCOS model. Additionally, we found a statistically significant difference in the expression of both the Gk and Prkcz genes. To summarize our study results, SP or Met supplementation to PCOS rats had almost the same effect on assessed relative liver weight, GOT, GPT, and insulin levels compared with PCOS control rats. If further studies confirm and detect more impact of SP on IR in PCOS, SP could be used instead of Met since the latter causes many side effects.

Keywords: Gene expression; Insulin resistance; Insulin signaling pathway; Metformin; PCOS; Spirulina.