Berberine plays a positive metabolic role in polycystic ovary syndrome - insulin resistance by regulating gut microbiotas

Objective: To investigate the treatment/amelioration effects of berberine on insulin resistance (IR) associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Methods: 16S amplicon and metabolomics analyses were performed on different groups of rat models treated with berberine. We used 16S amplicon analysis to demonstrate the microbiota with the quasi-likelihood (QL) F-test of the edgeR package. We performed different metabolite analysis using principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares discrimination analysis (PLS-DA), and orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA). We then constructed a correlation network of different microbiotas and metabolites through relevance, and analyzed correlations between/among different microbiotas and metabolites.

Results: We obtained a total of 43 different microbiota bacterial communities, including 20 bacteria that were up-regulated and 23 that were down-regulated at the genus level. Regarding co-occurrence, Alistipes and the Family_XIII_AD3011_group that rejected each other were found in Ruminiclostridium_6 and Tyzzerella. Metabolomics analysis produced a total of three different metabolites that included one up-regulated (glutamine) and two down-regulated (unsaturated acids, UFA [CH=CH] and glucose) metabolites, as well as 22 pathways (including type 2 diabetes mellitus, 2-component system, and streptomycin biosynthesis). We subsequently screened those with a significance level of less than 0.05. Integrational analysis results showed that Lachnospiraceae_NC2004_group, Flavonifractor, Parasutterella, glucose, and glutamine were directly regulated. A literature search revealed that the Lacchinospiraceae_NC2004_group, glucose, and glutamine were affected by berberine and exerted a treatment/amelioration effect on IR associated with PCOS. Akkermansia, Bacteroides, and glucose were also associated with IR.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that berberine plays a positive role in the treatment/amelioration of PCOS by affecting gut microbiota, and can therefore modulate metabolism.