Aberrant miRNA-mRNA regulatory network in polycystic ovary syndrome is associated with markers of insulin sensitivity and inflammation
Yulan Qin, Yuhuan Wang, Hui Zhao, Zhaoxia Yang, Yani Kang
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common multifactorial metabolic and endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. Increasingly, evidence indicates that the microRNA (miRNA)-mRNA axis contributes to the development of PCOS. METHODS: To investigate the molecular mechanisms through which miRNA-mRNA expression affects hyperandrogenism, ovarian tissue samples from prenatally androgenized (PNA) mice were subjected to miRNA-seq and RNA-seq analysis. Analyses were performed to identify differentially expressed microRNAs (DEmiRs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs). In combination with our previous data obtained from clinical samples, we have performed an integrated miRNA-mRNA analysis of PNA mice and granulosa cells (GCs) from patients with PCOS. The changes in expression were validated by RT-qPCR in more mouse models and clinical samples. RESULTS: experiments showed that the regulatory relationship observed may be related to the direct stimulation of DHT. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that the miRNA-mRNA regulatory network in PCOS was associated with markers of insulin sensitivity and inflammation. Our study provides a new genetic basis and novel insight regarding the pathogenesis of PCOS.