Figure 5

Effects of ER stress inhibitors on ovarian fibrosis in PCOS mice. Three-week-old female mice were divided into four groups. The control group (n = 5) was s.c. injected daily with sesame oil, followed by the oral administration of saline for 20 days. The PCOS group (n = 5) was s.c. injected daily with DHEA (6 mg/100 g of body weight), followed by the oral administration of saline for 20 days. The PCOS + TUDCA group (n = 5) was s.c. injected daily with DHEA, followed by the oral administration of TUDCA (50 mg/100 g of body weight) for 20 days. The PCOS + BGP-15 group (n = 5) was s.c. injected daily with DHEA, followed by the oral administration of BGP-15 (3 mg/100 g of body weight) for 20 days. The ovaries were collected on day 21. (A) Cross-sections of ovaries were stained with Masson’s trichrome stain. Fibrotic tissue was stained blue. (B–F) Cross-sections of ovaries were stained with collagen type I, collagen type IV, TGF-β1, phospho-IRE1, and phospho-PERK. (G) Cross-sections of ovaries were hybridized with a DIG-labeled antisense XBP1(S) probe. (A–G) (a–h) show the representative sections. Lower panels (e–h) show highly magnified views corresponding to (a–d). (i) show the quantitative analysis of (A) Masson’s trichrome staining, (B–F) immunohistochemical staining, and (G) in situ hybridization. The scale bars in (A–C) (a–d) and (A–C) (e–h) indicate 50 μm and 20 μm, respectively. The scale bars in (D–G) (a–d) and (D–G) (e–h) indicate 100 μm and 50 μm, respectively. (H–J) XBP1(S), TGF-β1, and CTGF mRNA expression levels in mouse ovaries were measured by real-time PCR and normalized to that of GAPDH. The letters denote significant differences between groups. TUDCA, tauroursodeoxycholic acid.