Therapeutic effects and potential mechanisms of caffeine on obese polycystic ovary syndrome: bioinformatic analysis and experimental validation

Background The risk of PCOS is significantly increased in obese women, and studies have shown that weight loss can improve the symptoms of PCOS. Coffee has been shown to effectively reduce body weight. In this study, we focused on the SLC16A6 gene through bioinformatics and searched for coffee and its monomers through reverse network pharmacology. Materials and Methods The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database was searched to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with PCOS patients. Gene Ontology (GO) functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were subsequently performed. The effects of caffeine on body weight, the estrous cycle, ovarian pathology, the serum insulin concentration and the insulin resistance index, and the expression of the SLC16A6 transporter gene in the ovarian tissues of obese PCOS rats were observed. Results The common differentially expressed gene SLC16A6 was identified in this study, and animal experiments confirmed the effectiveness of caffeine in the treatment of obese PCOS rats. Conclusions Caffeine can effectively improve the symptoms of obese PCOS rats. The mechanism by which caffeine can treat obese patients with PCOS is related to increasing the expression of the SLC16A6 gene.