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Serum-Derived Exosomal microRNAs in Lipid Metabolism in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

  • General Gynecology: Original Article
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Abstract

The crosstalk between obesity and insulin resistance (IR) in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may be related to miRNA regulation secreted by exosomes. However, the underlying mechanism remains to be explored. A model of PCOS with IR was constructed in mice with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and a high-fat diet (HFD). Serum exosomes were extracted and characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and western blot analysis (for CD9, CD63, and CD81). The expression of miR-20b-5p and miR-106a-5p in serum exosomes was detected by qRT-PCR. The effects of serum exosomal miR-20b-5p and miR-106a-5p on lipid metabolism and ovary histological structure in PCOS model with IR were also explored. Serum exosomal miR-20b-5p and miR-106a-5p overexpression could inhibit adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells with IR and PCOS mice model. Furthermore, the predicted targets of miR-20b-5p and miR-106a-5p were also analyzed with bioinformatics. In DHEA + HFD serum-derived exosomes, the miR-20b-5p and miR-106a-5p levels were markedly decreased. Overexpression of miR-20b-5p and miR-106a-5p alleviated adipocyte differentiation–related genes and triglyceride content in 3T3-L1 cells and liver steatosis in mice. Bioinformatics analysis of miR-20b-5p and miR-106a-5p predicted targets indicated that miR-20b-5p and miR-106a-5p were highly related to lipid metabolism. Serum-derived exosome miR-20b-5p and miR-106a-5p inhibited adipocyte differentiation during the process of PCOS with IR, which might be a novel therapeutic target.

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Data Availability

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Youth Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 81904237).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Reproductive Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

    Yanli Hong

  2. Nanjing, China

    Yanli Hong

  3. TCM Gynecology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

    Jiayun Wu, Simin Yu, Miao Hui & Sipei Lin

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  1. Yanli Hong
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  2. Jiayun Wu
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Correspondence to Yanli Hong.

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The protocol was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine.

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Hong, Y., Wu, J., Yu, S. et al. Serum-Derived Exosomal microRNAs in Lipid Metabolism in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Reprod. Sci. 29, 2625–2635 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-022-00930-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-022-00930-1

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