title: MicroRNA-224 is involved in the regulation of mouse cumulus expansion by targeting Ptx3.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are indicated to regulate ovarian development in a cell- or stage-specific manner. Our previous study showed that miR-224 is involved in TGF-β1-mediated follicular granulosa cell (GC) growth and estradiol (E2) production during the transition from the preantral to early antral stage by targeting Smad4. In this study, miR-224 was found to target pentraxin 3 (Ptx3), a gene critical for cumulus expansion during ovulation. In addition, PTX3 was up-regulated in mouse mural GCs and cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) by TGF-β1 treatment, which was partially mediated by miR-224. The effect of miR-224 during ovulation was further examined in vitro and in vivo by construction of an adenovirus-mediated expression vector for miR-224 (Ad-miR-224). In vitro studies demonstrated that miR-224 could perturb cumulus expansion in EGF-stimulated COCs by decreasing PTX3 secretion. In vivo studies also showed that injection of Ad-miR-224 into ovarian bursa decreased PTX3 expression and disrupted ovulation, which led to a decreased number of implantation sites and offspring being born. These results indicate that miR-224 may affect ovulation and subsequent embryo development by targeting Ptx3, suggesting potential roles for miRNAs in offering new treatments for ovulation disorder-associated infertility, or, conversely, designing new contraceptives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China; Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China; Center for Reproductive Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Guidong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China; Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China; Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China; Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Mianmian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China; Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Mingrong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lü
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China; Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China; Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China; Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: feisun@ustc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D054885:Cumulus Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D010060:Ovulation / Q000235:genetics; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000099153:Pentraxins
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D035683:MicroRNAs; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1; D000099153:Pentraxins; C584584:MIRN224 microRNA, mouse
keywords: CL; COCs; DMSO; EGF; ELISA; GCs; MicroRNA-224; Mouse cumulus expansion; PND; Ptx3; UTRs; corpus luteum; cumulus-oocyte complexes; dimethylsulfoxide; eCG; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; equine chorionic gonadotropin; granulosa cells; hCG; human chorionic gonadotropin; miRNAs; microRNAs; mouse mural granulosa cells; mouse preantral granulosa cells; mpGCs; muGCs; pentraxin 3; postnatal day; untranslated regions