Growth hormone protects oocytes from premature ovarian failure by alleviating apoptosis (GH protects oocytes from POF by alleviating apoptosis)

Abstract

Abstract Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a mysterious disorder in women when the ovaries stop producing oocytes. Even though many causes are proposed as the pathogenesis of POF, the true underlying cause for the majority of POF cases has remained unidentified. Since POF severely interferes with fertility and it is a devastating diagnosis for women, itis necessary to develop new therapies to reduce the long-term health consequences from POF. To investigate the function and underlying mechanism of growth hormone (GH) in the development of ovaries, follicles, and oocytes under the condition of POF, we used the intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin to construct the POF mice model. Then, we assessed the function of GH in POF. Herein, we report that GH efficiently promoted the ovarian coefficient, development of follicles, and the number of oocytes. Mechanistically, GH prevented alternations of mitochondrial ultrastructure to stabilize the membrane potential, consequently reducing ROS level and early apoptosis of oocytes in POF mice. Furthermore, GH treatment stabilized the serum levels of Inhibin B (INHB) and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) and regulated the expressions of apoptosis-related factors, growth hormone receptor (GHR), and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF - I). Thus, we concluded that GH supplementation promotes mitochondrial biogenesis to protect the oocyte from POF through the GHR/IGF-I signaling pathway.