scholarly journals Micro-RNA378 (miR-378) Regulates Ovarian Estradiol Production by Targeting Aromatase

Endocrinology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 152 (10) ◽  
pp. 3941-3951 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shengyu Xu ◽  
Katja Linher-Melville ◽  
Burton B. Yang ◽  
De Wu ◽  
Julang Li

Estradiol is a steroid hormone that not only plays an important role in ovarian follicular development but also is associated with many reproductive disorders. Owing to the importance of aromatase in the production of estradiol, the regulation of aromatase gene expression at the transcriptional level has been an extensive area of study for over two decades. However, its regulation at the posttranscriptional level has remained unclear. Here, we show that micro-RNA378 (miR-378) is spatiotemporally expressed in porcine granulosa cells, the cells that generate estradiol in the ovary during follicular development, in an inverse manner compared with the expression of aromatase. In vitro overexpression and inhibition experiments revealed that aromatase expression, and therefore estradiol production, by granulosa cells, is posttranscriptionally down-regulated by miR-378. Furthermore, site-directed mutation studies identified two binding sites in the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) of the aromatase coding sequence that are critical for the action of miR-378. Interestingly, overexpression of the aromatase 3′-UTR enhanced aromatase expression at the protein level in granulosa cells, possibly mediated by the binding of miR-378 within this region, thereby reducing the binding of this micro-RNA to the endogenous aromatase 3′-UTR.

Author(s):  
Renee Emily Hilker ◽  
Bo Pan ◽  
Xiaoshu Zhan ◽  
Julang Li

In antral follicles, transition of proliferative granulosa cells to estradiol-producing is critical for proper oocyte maturation. MicroRNAs are noncoding RNAs that play important roles in ovarian follicular development, however this has yet to be fully characterized. MicroRNA-21 is significantly higher in granulosa cells isolated from large antral follicles compared to those from small antral follicles. To investigate the function of miR-21, porcine granulosa cells were transfected with miR-21 mimic or miR-21 targeted siRNA. Cells with the miR-21 mimic had higher aromatase expression and estradiol production but decreased WT1 expression. Conversely, cells with the miR-21 siRNA secreted less estradiol and had higher WT1 expression. We hypothesized miR-21 promotes estradiol production by inhibiting WT1 protein synthesis. We found a potential miR-21 binding site in the 3’UTR of the WT1 transcript and performed a dual luciferase reporter assay using the wild-type and mutated 3’UTR. Compared to the negative control, the miR-21 mimic induced a significant decrease in luciferase activity in the wild-type 3’UTR. This decrease was reversed when the 3’UTR was mutated, suggesting miR-21 targets this site to inhibit WT1 expression. We next transfected porcine granulosa cells with WT1 targeted siRNA and observed a significant increase in aromatase expression and estradiol secretion. We propose that miR-21 represses WT1 expression in granulosa cells to potentially promote aromatase expression and estradiol production. This study offers the first report of a microRNA regulating WT1 expression in granulosa cells and reveals the role of miR-21 in WT1’s regulation of estradiol production.


1995 ◽  
Vol 83 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 169-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Béatrice Goxe ◽  
Jacques E. Flechon ◽  
Solange Delasalle ◽  
Roland Salesse

1979 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
ADA M. LINDSEY ◽  
CORNELIA P. CHANNING

The effects of ovine, porcine and human FSH, and ovine and human LH on the accumulation of cyclic AMP by porcine granulosa cells obtained from follicles at various stages of maturation were investigated. During incubation periods of 15 min, 10 μg ovine FSH pretreated with antiserum to LH or 10 μg human FSH resulted in an 11- to 18-fold, five-to ninefold, and less than a twofold increase in intracellular accumulation of cyclic AMP by granulosa cells from small (1–2 mm), medium (3–5 mm) and large (6–12 mm) follicles respectively. Similar patterns of response occurred with addition of porcine FSH. After incubation for 30 and 60 min with ovine, porcine or human FSH, significant accumulation of cyclic AMP in the incubation medium occurred with cells obtained from small and medium-sized follicles. After 60 min of incubation with FSH the accumulation of cyclic AMP in the incubation medium exceeded the intracellular cyclic AMP levels in granulosa cells from small and medium-sized follicles. During incubation periods of 15 min, 1·0 μg ovine LH resulted in less than a twofold, a fourfold and greater than a tenfold increase in intracellular accumulation of cyclic AMP by granulosa cells from small, medium and large follicles respectively. Addition of human LH brought about a similar response. Incubation periods of 30 and 60 min with 1·0 μg ovine or human LH resulted in significant accumulation of cyclic AMP in the incubation medium by granulosa cells from large follicles; cyclic AMP content in the incubation medium was greater after 60 min compared with 30 min of incubation. It was concluded that ovine FSH pretreated with an antiserum to LH had similar effects on cyclic AMP levels as did purified human and porcine FSH, and that the stimulatory effects of the less pure ovine FSH were probably not due to an impurity in the FSH preparation. Porcine granulosa cells obtained from small follicles should be suitable as an in-vitro FSH bioassay while granulosa cells obtained from large follicles should be suitable as an in-vitro LH bioassay.


Reproduction ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
JongYeob Choi ◽  
MinWha Jo ◽  
EunYoung Lee ◽  
DooSeok Choi

In this study, we examined whether granulosa cell autophagy during follicular development and atresia was regulated by the class I phosphoinositide-3 kinase/protein kinase B (AKT) pathway, which is known to control the activity of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a major negative regulator of autophagy. Ovaries and granulosa cells were obtained using an established gonadotropin-primed immature rat model that induces follicular development and atresia. Autophagy was evaluated by measuring the expression level of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3-II (LC3-II) using western blots and immunohistochemistry. The activity of AKT and mTOR was also examined by observing the phosphorylation of AKT and ribosomal protein S6 kinase (S6K) respectively. After gonadotropin injection, LC3-II expression was suppressed and phosphorylation of AKT and S6K increased in rat granulosa cells. By contrast, gonadotropin withdrawal by metabolic clearance promoted LC3-II expression and decreased phosphorylation of AKT and S6K. In addition,in-vitroFSH treatment of rat granulosa cells also indicated inhibition of LC3-II expression accompanied by a marked increase in phosphorylation of AKT and S6K. Inhibition of AKT phosphorylation using AKT inhibitor VIII suppressed FSH-mediated phosphorylation of S6K, followed by an increase in LC3-II expression. Furthermore, co-treatment with FSH and AKT inhibitor increased the levels of apoptosis and cell death of granulosa cells compared with the single treatment with FSH. Taken together, our findings indicated that AKT-mediated activation of mTOR suppresses granulosa cell autophagy during follicular development and is involved in the regulation of apoptotic cell death.


1997 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
G N Europe-Finner ◽  
E Cartwright ◽  
J Bellinger ◽  
H J Mardon ◽  
D H Barlow ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Granulosa cells are essential for follicular development and corpus luteum formation and their functions are regulated by gonadotrophins through G protein-coupled receptors. The dominant second messenger pathway involves the stimulation of cyclic AMP formation by Gαs-linked receptors. In this paper we have investigated the expression of Gαs mRNA splice variants in relation to expression of Gαs protein isoforms in granulosa cells obtained from patients undergoing in vitro fertilization. We have carried out ribonuclease protection assays using cRNA riboprobes which are capable of detecting all Gαs mRNA isoforms as well as quantifying total amounts of Gαs mRNA. Granulosa cells express the message for Gαs-Large and Gαs-Small and the presence of two distinct protein products was confirmed by immunoblotting using the antibody RM/1. Moreover, the data show that a significant fraction of Gαs-Large and Gαs-Small mRNAs contain an extra CAG codon. This should generate proteins with an extra serine residue, resulting in Gαs variants with the consensus sequence of a protein kinase C phosphorylation site. These results highlight the possible interaction between different signalling pathways in the control of cAMP production and the need to investigate the relationship between Gαs variants and different adenylyl cyclase isozymes in patients with normal and abnormal ovarian function.


2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 438-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malgorzata DUDA ◽  
Malgorzata DURLEJ ◽  
Malgorzata KNET ◽  
Katarzyna KNAPCZYK-STWORA ◽  
Zbigniew TABAROWSKI ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 511-520
Author(s):  
Yanrong Kuai ◽  
Xiaobo Gao ◽  
Huixia Yang ◽  
Haiyan Luo ◽  
Yang Xu ◽  
...  

Abstract Pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB) is an organochlorine fungicide widely used for crop production and has become an environmental concern. Little is known about the effect of PCNB on ovarian steroidogenesis and follicular development. We found that PCNB stimulated Star expression and progesterone production in cultured rat granulosa cells in a dose-dependent manner. PCNB activated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK3/1) extracellulat regulated kinase (ERK1/2), thus inhibition of either protein kinase A (PKA) or MAPK3/1 signaling pathway significantly attenuated progesterone biosynthesis caused by PCNB, suggesting that PCNB induced progesterone production by activating the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP/PKA) and MAPK3/1 signaling pathways. Further investigation demonstrated that PCNB induced Star expression and altered MAPK3/1 signaling in ovary tissues of immature SD rats treated with PCNB at the dose of 100, 200, or 300 mg/kg by daily gavage for 7 days, while serum progesterone level was dose-dependently decreased. We demonstrated that PCNB exposure accelerated the recruitment of primordial follicles into the growing follicle pool in ovary tissues, accompanied by increased levels of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) in both ovary tissues and serum. Taken together, our data demonstrate for the first time that PCNB stimulated Star expression, altered MAPK3/1 signaling and progesterone production in vivo and in vitro, and accelerated follicular development with a concomitant increase in AMH in ovary tissues and serum. Our findings provide novel insight into the toxicity of PCNB to animal ovary function.


2002 ◽  
Vol 172 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Le Bellego ◽  
C Pisselet ◽  
C Huet ◽  
P Monget ◽  
D Monniaux

This study aimed to determine the physiological role of laminin (LN) and its receptor, alpha(6)beta(1) integrin, in controlling the functions of granulosa cells (GC) during follicular development in sheep ovary. Immunohistochemistry experiments showed the presence of increasing levels of LN (P<0.0001), and high levels of mature alpha(6)beta(1) integrin in GC layers of healthy antral follicles during the follicular and the preovulatory phases of the estrous cycle. In vitro, the addition of a function-blocking antibody raised against alpha(6) subunit (anti-alpha(6) IgG) to the medium of ovine GC cultured on LN impaired cell spreading (P<0.0001), decreased the proliferation rate (P<0.05) and increased the apoptosis rate (P<0.05). Furthermore, addition of anti-alpha(6) IgG enhanced estradiol (E2) secretion by GC in the presence or absence of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone or insulin-like growth factor-I in culture medium (P<0.0001), and inhibited progesterone (P4) secretion in basal conditions or in the presence of low (0.5 ng/ml) FSH concentrations only (P<0.0001). The anti-alpha(6) IgG effect was specific to an interaction of LN with alpha(6)beta(1) integrin since it was ineffective on GC cultured on heat-denatured LN, RGD (arginine-glycine-aspartic acid) peptides and non-coated substratum. Hence, this study established that alpha(6)beta(1) integrin 1) was expressed in GC of antral follicles, 2) mediated the actions of LN on survival, proliferation and steroidogenesis of GC, and 3) was able to dramatically modulate P4 and E2 secretion by GC in vitro. It is suggested that during the follicular and the preovulatory phases of the estrous cycle, the increasing levels of LN in GC of large antral follicles might support their final development to ovulation.


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