Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
J Reprod Immunol. 2021 Aug;146:103328. doi: 10.1016/j.jri.2021.103328. Epub 2021 May 5.
microRNA (miRs or miRNAs) is a type of non-coding RNA which plays the role of a regulator in gene expression. A number of miRNAs has been found by the researchers for its critical role in the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). But there is a no clear information available about the biological role played by miR-21 in PCOS prognosis. So, the aim of the current study is to determine the role played by miR-21 in the progression of PCOS. In order to achieve this aim, the researcher examined miR-21 expression levels in ovarian tissue samples collected from PCOS patients as well as their KGN cells (human granulosa-like tumor cell line). The study results inferred downregulation in the expression levels of miR-21 in ovarian tissues of PCOS patients and KGN cells, when compared with unaffected ovarian tissues and IOSE80 (human ovarian surface epithelial cell line). With the overexpression of miR-21, the proliferation of KGN cells was prevented and apoptosis was induced among these cells. The authors used StarBase analysis for predicting the direct binding target of miR-21. As per the assay results attained from luciferase reporter assay and western blot analysis, it was found that SNHG7 acted as a target gene for miR-21 while the latter downregulated the former. To conclude, the current study revealed the contribution of miR-21/SNHG7 axis in the regulation of Granulosa Cell (GC) proliferation and apoptosis. It further suggested a new molecular mechanism for GC dysregulation while the finding presents a new promising target for PCOS treatment procedure.
微小 RNA（miRs 或 miRNAs）是一种非编码 RNA，在基因表达中起调节作用。研究人员发现了许多 miRNA，因其在多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS）发病机制中的关键作用而备受关注。但是，miR-21 在 PCOS 预后中的生物学作用尚不清楚。因此，本研究旨在确定 miR-21 在 PCOS 进展中的作用。为了实现这一目标，研究人员检查了来自 PCOS 患者和他们的 KGN 细胞（人颗粒细胞样肿瘤细胞系）的卵巢组织样本中的 miR-21 表达水平。研究结果推断，与未受影响的卵巢组织和 IOSE80（人卵巢表面上皮细胞系）相比，PCOS 患者和 KGN 细胞中的 miR-21 表达水平下调。通过过表达 miR-21，阻止了 KGN 细胞的增殖并诱导这些细胞凋亡。作者使用 StarBase 分析来预测 miR-21 的直接结合靶标。根据荧光素酶报告基因检测和 Western blot 分析获得的检测结果，发现 SNHG7 是 miR-21 的靶基因，而后者下调了前者。总之，本研究揭示了 miR-21/SNHG7 轴在调节颗粒细胞（GC）增殖和凋亡中的作用。它进一步提出了 GC 失调的新分子机制，而这一发现为 PCOS 治疗提供了新的有希望的靶点。
