Liang Lin, Lv Jie, Li Wei, Song Chengwen, Chen Ying, Wei Huafang
Department of Gynecology, General Hospital of Central Theater Command of Chinese People's Liberation Army, 627 Wuluo Road, Wuchang District, Hubei, Wuhan, 430064, China.
Hereditas. 2025 Jul 12;162(1):126. doi: 10.1186/s41065-025-00498-1.
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a frequently occurring disorder affecting reproductive and metabolic health. miR-338-3p is implicated in early follicular development. We aimed to investigate the expression of miR-338-3p in PCOS patients and its effects on proliferation and apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells.
The study included 100 healthy women and 110 women diagnosed with PCOS as participants. Reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression of miR-338-3p and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) was employed to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of miR-338-3p. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and flow cytometry. Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the correlations between miR-338-3p and luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, or PTEN. The target relationship of miR-338-3p and PTEN was confirmed via dual-luciferase assay.
Serum miR-338-3p was decreased in PCOS patients, and it was negatively correlated with both LH and testosterone. Downregulation of miR-338-3p inhibits the proliferation of ovarian granulosa cells and enhances cell apoptosis, whereas upregulation produces the opposite effect. PTEN inhibition subverted the inhibited proliferation and enhanced apoptosis regulated by miR-338-3p inhibitor.
Reduced miR-338-3p levels have potential predictive value in distinguishing individuals with PCOS patients from normal population. Mechanistically, this microRNA regulates the PTEN gene to inhibit granulosa cell proliferation and promote apoptosis, thereby contributing to the pathological processes of PCOS.
多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS）是一种常见的影响生殖和代谢健康的疾病。miR-338-3p与早期卵泡发育有关。我们旨在研究miR-338-3p在PCOS患者中的表达及其对卵巢颗粒细胞增殖和凋亡的影响。
该研究纳入100名健康女性和110名诊断为PCOS的女性作为参与者。采用逆转录定量PCR（RT-qPCR）检测miR-338-3p和磷酸酶及张力蛋白同源物（PTEN）的表达，并采用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线评估miR-338-3p的诊断效能。通过细胞计数试剂盒-8（CCK-8）和流式细胞术检测细胞增殖和凋亡。采用Pearson相关性分析评估miR-338-3p与黄体生成素（LH）、睾酮或PTEN之间的相关性。通过双荧光素酶报告基因实验证实miR-338-3p与PTEN的靶向关系。
PCOS患者血清miR-338-3p降低，且与LH和睾酮均呈负相关。miR-338-3p的下调抑制卵巢颗粒细胞的增殖并增强细胞凋亡，而上调则产生相反的效果。PTEN的抑制作用可逆转miR-338-3p抑制剂所调控的增殖抑制和凋亡增强作用。
miR-338-3p水平降低在区分PCOS患者与正常人群方面具有潜在的预测价值。机制上，这种微小RNA通过调节PTEN基因来抑制颗粒细胞增殖并促进凋亡，从而推动PCOS的病理进程。
