{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,28]],"date-time":"2026-02-28T04:28:44Z","timestamp":1772252924261,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,6,13]],"date-time":"2017-06-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1497312000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Education","award":["2016R1D1A1B03932766"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2016R1D1A1B03932766"]}]},{"name":"Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries","award":["117041-03-1-SB010"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["117041-03-1-SB010"]}]},{"name":"Research fund of Chungnam National University"},{"name":"Ministry of Science, ICT &amp; Future Planning","award":["2016K1A1A8A01939208"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2016K1A1A8A01939208"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The traditional herbal medicine, Hochu-ekki-to, has been shown to have preventive effects on viral infection and stress. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical effects of Hochu-ekki-to on two stress-related rat models of polycystic ovarian syndrome. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control and treatment groups, the latter of which were subjected to stress induced by exposure to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) or cold temperatures. After these stress inductions, rats were orally treated with dissolved Hochu-ekki-to once per day for 7 days. Rats subjected to the two different stressors exhibited upregulation of steroid hormone receptors (in ovaries) and reproductive hormones (in blood), and consequent stimulation of abnormal follicle development accompanied by elevation of Hsp 90 expression (in ovaries). Treatment with Hochu-ekki-to for 7 days after stress induction increased immune functions, reduced the stress-induced activation of Hsp 90, and normalized the levels of the tested steroid hormone receptors and reproductive hormones. Our findings suggest that stress stimulations may promote the activation of Hsp 90 via the dysregulation of steroid hormone receptors and reproductive hormones, but that post-stress treatment with Hochu-ekki-to improves reproductive and immune functions in the ovaries of stressed rats.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules22060978","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,6,14]],"date-time":"2017-06-14T03:19:32Z","timestamp":1497410372000},"page":"978","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Hochu-ekki-to Treatment Improves Reproductive and Immune Modulation in the Stress-Induced Rat Model of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"22","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1928-5531","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eunkuk","family":"Park","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Zoology, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130701, Korea"},{"name":"Department of Medical Genetics, College of Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon 443721, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chun","family":"Choi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bio-Center, Gyeonggido Business and Science Accelerator, Suwon 16229, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Soo","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon 301747, Korea"},{"name":"Department of Medical Science, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon 301747, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yong-In","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Biological Material Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon 34141, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Samkee","family":"Sin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Korea Food and Drug Resource, Seoul 06622, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jong-Phil","family":"Chu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Zoology, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130701, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0859-0063","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jun","family":"Heo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon 301747, Korea"},{"name":"Department of Medical Science, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon 301747, Korea"},{"name":"Brain Research Institute, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon 301747, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,6,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"269","DOI":"10.1159\/000113309","article-title":"Infertility and polycystic ovarian syndrome: A study of association between body mass index and intrafamily marriages","volume":"65","author":"Haq","year":"2008","journal-title":"Gynecol. 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