Recent updates on animal models for understanding the etiopathogenesis of polycystic ovarian syndrome

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the primary cause of female infertility affecting several women worldwide. Changes in hormonal functions such as hyperandrogenism are considered a significant factor in developing PCOS in women. In addition, many molecular pathways are involved in the pathogenesis of PCOS in women. To have better insights about PCOS, it is data from clinical studies carried on women suffering from PCOS should be collected. However, this approach has several implications, including ethical considerations, cost involved and availability of subject. Moreover, during the early drug development process, it is always advisable to use nonhuman models mimicking human physiology as they are less expensive, readily available, have a shorter gestation period and less risk involved. Many animal models have been reported that resemble the PCOS pathways in human subjects. However, the models developed on rats and mice are more preferred over other rodent/non-rodent models due to their closer resemblance with human PCOS development mechanism. The most extensively reported PCOS models for rats and mice include those induced by using testosterone, letrozole and estradiol valerate. As the pathophysiology of PCOS is complex, none of the explored models completely surrogates the PCOS related conditions occurring in women. Hence, there is a need to develop an animal model that can resemble the pathophysiology of PCOS in women. The review focuses on various animal models explored to understand the pathophysiology of PCOS. The article also highlights some environmental and food-related models that have been used to induce PCOS.