BackgroundPolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most prevalent cause of anovulatory infertility and hyperandrogenism. Evidence favors insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia as the predominant, perhaps primary, defects in PCOS. The use of insulin-sensitizing drugs has been shown to improve both the reproductive and the metabolic aspects of PCOS. Cinnamon has been found to have insulin sensitizing effect and improve menstrual cyclicity in women with PCOS. The aim of this study was to determine the effect and mechanism of cinnamon on PCOS using a dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) induced PCOS mouse model.MethodsPrepubertal C57BL/6 mice (age 25 days) were raised to developed into control group, DHEA group and DHEA plus cinnamon group for 20 days. The stages of the estrous cycle were determined based on vaginal cytology; metabolic characteristics were examined by intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test and insulin tolerance test, the serum levels of hormones (testosterone, insulin, LH, FSH, IGF-1, IGFBP-1) were checked using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method, the ovarian morphology was observed by stained with hematoxylin and eosin. IGF-1 and IGFBP-1 expression in ovary were detected by immunohistochemical stain.ResultsCinnamon restores the cyclicity and ovary morphology in PCOS mice model induced by DHEA. There are significant differences of serum level of total testosterone (0.033 ± 0.009 ng/ml), among control group, DHEA and cinnamon group (0.052 ± 0.011 ng/ml), and DHEA group (0.079 ± 0.015 ng/ml); There was an increasing tendency of serum FSH level from DHEA group (5.02 ± 0.31 ng/ml), DHEA and cinnamon group (5.81 ± 0.51 ng/ml), to control group (7.13 ± 0.74 ng/ml); and there was a decreasing trend of serum LH level from DHEA group (3.75 ± 0.57 ng/ml), DHEA and cinnamon group (1.35 ± 0.61 ng/ml), or control group (0.69 ± 0.34 ng/ml); serum insulin level is significantly higher in DHEA treated mice (1.61 ± 0.31 ng/ml) than control group (0.93 ± 0.19 ng/ml), or DHEA and cinnamon effect (1.27 ± 0.23 ng/ml) (p < 0.05). The DHEA group also has a higher serum IGF-1 level (0.35 ± 0.06 ng/ml) than control group (0.17 ± 0.04 ng/ml) or DHEA and cinnamon group (0.21 ± 0.05 ng/ml) (p < 0.05). While DHEA group has a lower IGFBP-1 level (5.5 ± 1.6 ng/ml) than control group (15.8 ± 2.1 ng/ml) or DHEA and cinnamon group (10.3 ± 2.5 ng/ml) (p < 0.05). Cinnamon also attenuates DHEA induced a higher IGF-1 and lower IGFBP-1 expression in ovary by immunohistochemistry.ConclusionsThese preliminary data suggest that cinnamon supplementation improves insulin resistance and may be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of PCOS.

The ATPase family AAA domain-containing protein 2 (ATAD2) is associated with many cellular processes, such as cell proliferation, invasion and migration. However, the molecular biological function of the ATAD2 gene in cervical cancer is unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore ATAD2 expression in cervical cancer, evaluate the relationship between the development of cervical cancer, metastasis and clinicopathological characteristics, and discuss the implications for its use in clinical treatment. Protein and mRNA expression of ATAD2 was examined in tissues and cell lines. Tumor tissues from 135 cases of cervical cancer were collected for evaluation of ATAD2 expression by immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Prognostic significance was evaluated by the Cox hazards model and Kaplan-Meier survival method. HeLa and SiHa cells were transfected with two siRNAs targeting ATAD2. ATAD2 knockdown was used to analyze cell proliferation, invasion and migration. Cell viability was evaluated with the Cell Counting Κit-8 (CCK-8) assay, cell invasion by a Transwell assay and cell migration by a wound healing/scratch migration assay. ATAD2 was shown to be highly expressed in cervical cancer tissues, both at the transcriptional and protein levels, and was correlated with poor patient survival (P<0.05). Knockdown of ATAD2 in the HeLa and SiHa cells was found to reduce the capacity for invasion and migration (P<0.05), and inhibited the growth and clonogenic potential of the HeLa and SiHa cell lines. Our results suggest that cervical cancer tissues may have highly expressed ATAD2, which is associated with tumor stage and lymph node status (P<0.05). Oncogene ATAD2 may play an important role in cervical cancer proliferation, invasion and migration. It could serve as a prognostic marker and a therapeutic target for cervical cancer.

Dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) occurs frequently in cervical carcinogenesis. miRNAs function as tumor-suppressors or oncogenes and are involved in tumor behavior. However, the expression and function of miR-27b in cervical carcinogenesis remain unknown. In the present study, we observed that miR-27b was significantly increased in cervical cancer cells and tissues, and upregulation of miR-27b was negatively associated with its direct target, cadherin 11 (CDH11). Upregulation of miR-27b significantly accelerated the proliferation, cell cycle transition from G1 to S phase, migration and invasion of C33A cells, while downregulation of miR-27b suppressed the proliferation and invasion of HeLa cells. Moreover, CDH11 cDNA transfection impaired the oncogenic effect of miR-27b on cancer cells. Knockdown of CDH11 attenuated the suppressive effect of an miR-27b inhibitor on cervical cancer cells. In addition, we found that CDH11 was involved in miR-27b-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by regulating expression of E-cadherin, vimentin and N-cadherin. Our results for the first time indicate that miR-27b acting as an oncogene may play an important role in the progression of cervical cancer by modulating CDH11 and EMT.