Effects of 5‐Aza‐2'‐deoxycytidine on hormone secretion and epigenetic regulation in sika deer ovarian granulosa cells

Abstract

5‐Aza‐2'‐deoxycytidine (5‐Aza‐dC), an inhibitor of DNA methyltransferases, is an effective treatment for various cancers and has improved the development rate of cloned embryos. Previous studies have reported the effect of 5‐Aza‐dC on fibroblasts; however, the mechanism whereby 5‐Aza‐dC affects sika deer granulosa cells and hormone secretion is presently unknown. Here, we showed that the cell cycle after treatment with different doses of 5‐Aza‐dC was significantly altered. The number of cells in the S phase was significantly increased in response to a concentration of 0.1 μM 5‐Aza‐dC. The rate of apoptosis was increased when cells were treated with 0.1 μM and 5 μM 5‐Aza‐dC. We showed that the protein level of H3K9me2 was significantly decreased in response to 5‐Aza‐dC. The activity levels of DNA methyltransferase were reduced by a moderate dose of 5‐Aza‐dC. Furthermore, the secretion of E2 and P4 was influenced by different doses of 5‐Aza‐dC. Our study suggested that 5‐Aza‐dC affected hormone secretion in sika deer granulosa cells through cell development and epigenetic regulation. The findings of this study lay the foundation for further epigenetic studies in sika deer.