Abstract:Objective To investigate glucose and lipid metabolism in Letrozole and high-fat diet (HFD) induced polycystic ovary syndrome-insulin resistance (PCOS-IR) rats. Methods Twenty-four female SD rats of 3 weeks were randomly divided into 4 groups: control group, HFD group, PCOS group and PCOS-IR group. The rats in the HFD group and the PCOS-IR group were fed with high-fat diet for 12 weeks, while those of the control group and PCOS group were fed with normal diet. At the age of 6 weeks, the PCOS and PCOS-IR groups received Letrozole intragastric administration for 9 weeks. The changes in weight and ovarian morphology were observed; blood lipid, blood fasting plasma glucose (FPG), blood fasting insulin (FINS) and homeostasis model of assessment for insulin resistence index (HOMA-IR) were determined; and intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) and insulin tolerance test were conducted in all the groups. Results Compared with the control and HFD groups, the PCOS and PCOS-IR groups showed polycystic ovaries with high incidence of atretic follicle and ovarian cyst together with decreased layers of granulosa cells and no corpora lutea. Compared with the control group, the PCOS-IR group exhibited increased weight (P = 0.000) with higher total cholesterol concentration (P < 0.05) and low-density lipoprotein concentration (P < 0.01), and increased AUC of IPGTT (P < 0.05) and AUC of insulin tolerance (P < 0.01). The PCOS-IR group also showed higher FINS concentration (P < 0.01) and increased HOMA-IR (P < 0.05). Conclusions Letrozole and high-fat diet can successfully induce typical metabolic phenotypes of insulin resistance in PCOS-IR rats.