Transcriptome Analyses Identify Potential Key microRNAs and Their Target Genes Contributing to Ovarian Reserve
1
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 03080, Korea
2
Institute of Reproductive Medicine and Population, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea
3
Transdisciplinary Department of Medicine & Advanced Technology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 03080, Korea
4
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Korea University College of Medicine, Goryeodae-ro 73, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Korea
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Both authors contributed equally to this work.
Academic Editor: Alfredo Ciccodicola
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(19), 10819; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms221910819
Received: 5 August 2021
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Revised: 13 September 2021
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Accepted: 20 September 2021
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Published: 6 October 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Pathophysiology of Uterine and Ovarian Diseases and Dysfunction 2.0)
Female endocrinological symptoms, such as premature ovarian inefficiency (POI) are caused by diminished ovarian reserve and chemotherapy. The etiology of POI remains unknown, but this can lead to infertility. This has accelerated the search for master regulator genes or other molecules that contribute as enhancers or silencers. The impact of regulatory microRNAs (miRNAs) on POI has gained attention; however, their regulatory function in this condition is not well known. RNA sequencing was performed at four stages, 2-(2 W), 6-(6 W), 15-(15 W), and 20-(20 W) weeks, on ovarian tissue samples and 5058 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Gene expression and enrichment were analyzed based on the gene ontology and KEGG databases, and their association with other proteins was assessed using the STRING database. Gene set enrichment analysis was performed to identify the key target genes. The DEGs were most highly enriched in 6 W and 15 W groups. Figla, GDF9, Nobox, and Pou51 were significantly in-creased at 2 W compared with levels at 6 W and 20 W, whereas the expression of Foxo1, Inha, and Taf4b was significantly de-creased at 20 W. Ccnd2 and Igf1 expression was maintained at similar levels in each stage. In total, 27 genes were upregulated and 26 genes interacted with miRNAs; moreover, stage-specific upregulated and downregulated interactions were demonstrated. Increased and decreased miRNAs were identified at each stage in the ovaries. The constitutively expressed genes, Ccnd2 and Igf1, were identified as the major targets of many miRNAs (p < 0.05), and Fshr and Foxo3 interacted with miRNAs, namely mmu-miR-670-3p and mmu-miR-153-3p. miR-26a-5p interacted with Piwil2, and its target genes were downregulated in the 20 W mouse ovary. In this study, we aimed to identify key miRNAs and their target genes encompassing the reproductive span of mouse ovaries using mRNA and miRNA sequencing. These results indicated that gene sets are regulated in the reproductive stage-specific manner via interaction with miRNAs. Furthermore, consistent expression of Ccnd2 and Igf1 is considered crucial for the ovarian reserve and is regulated by many interactive miRNAs.
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Keywords:
microRNA; RNA-sequencing; differentially expressed genes; Piwil
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MDPI and ACS Style
Kim, Y.-Y.; Kim, K.-S.; Kim, Y.-J.; Kim, S.-W.; Kim, H.; Ku, S.-Y. Transcriptome Analyses Identify Potential Key microRNAs and Their Target Genes Contributing to Ovarian Reserve. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22, 10819. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms221910819
AMA Style
Kim Y-Y, Kim K-S, Kim Y-J, Kim S-W, Kim H, Ku S-Y. Transcriptome Analyses Identify Potential Key microRNAs and Their Target Genes Contributing to Ovarian Reserve. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021; 22(19):10819. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms221910819
Chicago/Turabian StyleKim, Yoon-Young, Kwang-Soo Kim, Yong-Jin Kim, Sung-Woo Kim, Hoon Kim, and Seung-Yup Ku. 2021. "Transcriptome Analyses Identify Potential Key microRNAs and Their Target Genes Contributing to Ovarian Reserve" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22, no. 19: 10819. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms221910819
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