Effects of metformin, letrozole and atorvastatin on inflammation and apoptosis in experimental peritoneal and ovarian endometriosis in the rat

Abstract

Endometriosis is a common gynecological hurting disorder in which tissue is similar to the tissue that normally lines the inner layer of the uterus. It often causes fertility problems. Unfortunately, effective treatments are limited. Therefore it's important to explore an imperative and easily accessible treatment to alleviate the probable pathologies and preserve fertility in endometriosis. Consequently, we aimed to investigate the effects of metformin, letrozole, and atorvastatin on inflammation and apoptosis in experimentally induced ovarian and peritoneal endometriosis in rat models. In the present study, 35 rats were randomly divided into five groups. Group 1: sham-operated control group. Group 2: untreated endometriosis group. Group 3: given 100 mg/kg/day of oral metformin. Group 4: given 0.1 mg/kg/day of oral letrozole. Group 5: given 2.5 mg/kg/day of oral atorvastatin. At the end of the 28 days, we examined Ki67, Bax and Bcl-2 immunoexpressions in ovarian and peritoneal tissues, and IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α levels were evaluated from the peritoneal fluid. All medical treatment groups showed a significant decrease in Ki67 expression. A significant increase in Bax expression was also observed in all samples from all medical treatment groups (other than the untreated endometriosis groups). Further, a significant decrease in Bcl-2 expression was found in all medical treatment groups. IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α levels were significantly lower in all medical treatment groups than in the endometriosis groups. In conclusion; Metformin, letrozole, and atorvastatin showed apoptosis induction and anti-inflammatory effects on both ovarian and peritoneal endometriosis in experimental models.