The Effect of Low-Calorie High Protein Diet on Insulin, TNF-α and P38MAPK levels in insulin-resistant pcos mice models

Introduction: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is found in 33%-38% of women who are overweight. The characteristic correlation of PCOS with insulin resistance, hyperandrogenemia and chronic inflammation such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) involves activity of the mitogen protein signaling pathway (MAPK). Calorie restriction or a low carbohydrate diet for women with PCOS is beneficial for their hormonal and metabolic profile. Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of low carbohydrate high protein diet (LCHP) in reducing insulin levels, TNF-α levels and p38MAPK expression. Methods: This study used PCOS mice models which were divided into three groups: K-(untreated mice given standard feed), K+ (PCOS-IR mice model given standard feed) and P (PCOS mice model given the LCHP diet) for 20 days. The PCOS mice model was obtained from the injection of testosterone propionate for 28 days. Insulin and TNF-α levels of the blood serum were measured using ELISA and p38MAPK examination was done using immunohistochemicals on ovarian tissue. Results: Results showed that there was a significant difference of insulin and TNF-α levels between the group given the LCHP diet and the other groups (p <0.05). In contrast, the expression of p38MAPK showed a negative effect on the LCHP diet (p >0.05). Conclusion: The findings in this study could potentially be due to the activity of the MAPK pathway caused by oxidative stress in cells that effects p38MAPK activity, in which it is still unclear whether oxidative stress causes the occurance of kinase activation or not. However, it has no effect on insulin signaling pathways and the proinflammatory cytokine TNF-α.