Expression of microRNA in follicular fluid in women with and without PCOS

Abstract

Several studies have shown the expression of small non-coding microRNA (miRNA) changes in PCOS and their expression in follicular fluid has been described, though the number of studies remains small. In this prospective cohort study, miRNA were measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in 29 weight and aged matched anovulatory women with PCOS and 30 women without from follicular fluid taken at the time of oocyte retrieval who were undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF); miRNA levels were determined from a miRNA data set. 176 miRNA were detected, of which 29 differed significantly between normal women and PCOS women. Of these, the top 7 (p < 0.015) were miR-381-3p, miR-199b-5p, miR-93-3p, miR-361-3p, miR-127-3p, miR-382-5p, miR-425-3p. In PCOS, miR-382-5p correlated with age and free androgen index (FAI), miR-199b-5p correlated with anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) and miR-93-3p correlated with C-reactive protein (CRP). In normal controls, miR-127-3p, miR-382-5p and miR-425-3p correlated with the fertilisation rate; miR-127-3p correlated with insulin resistance and miR-381-3p correlated with FAI. Ingenuity pathway assessment revealed that 12 of the significantly altered miRNA related to reproductive pathways, 12 miRNA related to the inflammatory disease pathway and 6 were implicated in benign pelvic disease. MiRNAs differed in the follicular fluid between PCOS and normal control women, correlating with age, FAI, inflammation and AMH in PCOS, and with BMI, fertilization rate (3 miRNA), insulin resistance, FAI and inflammation in control women, according to Ingenuity Pathway Analysis.

Increased MicroRNA Levels in Women With Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome but Without Insulin Resistance: A Pilot Prospective Study

“…Further, it is of interest that let-7b-3p correlated with AMH in PCOS women, as AMH has been suggested as a biomarker of PCOS though of low sensitivity ( 31 , 32 ). When weight matched obese PCOS and control women are compared, the number of miRNA that differ between groups are much fewer than those previously reported in the literature ( 33 ), and none of the miRNA reported for that obese cohort differed in this study. As expected, several of the miRNA found in the obese study previously reported were associated with insulin resistance ( 34 ) whilst the four miRNA described here were not.…”

“…In this study, analysis of the combined PCOS and control women revealed that miR-1260a correlated with FAI and AMH, but this correlation was not found in obesity with insulin resistance (33). It is reported that miR-1260a is associated with type 2 diabetes (35) as is miR-424 (36), whilst miR-let 7 has been associated with a reduction in insulin signaling (36).…”

A review of therapeutic options for managing the metabolic aspects of polycystic ovary syndrome

“…MiRNAs are non-coding RNAs of approximately 22 nucleotides in length that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression; miRNAs are differentially found in PCOS compared with normal controls. 156 , 157 Their binding to target messenger RNA (mRNA) causes mRNA cleavage, translational repression and mRNA decay. 158 – 161 miRNAs are released by many tissues, including adipose tissues, and act as both endocrine and paracrine messenger between various target organs.…”

Identification of Crucial lncRNAs, miRNAs, mRNAs, and Potential Therapeutic Compounds for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome by Bioinformatics Analysis

“…By using the littermate model, Mohamed et al verified that TXNIP deletion ameliorated the inflammatory response in high fat diet-induced nonalcoholic steatohepatitis via deactivation of the TLR2-NLRP3 inflammasome axis [ 41 ]. Furthermore, miR-382-5p was shown to be negatively correlated with a free androgen index [ 42 ]. The PCOS group had a significantly higher free androgen index than controls [ 43 ].…”