Inside the granulosa transcriptome

Abstract

The somatic component of follicular structure is a mixture of different cell types, represented by Granulosa cells (GCs) that are the paracrine regulators of the oocyte growth. GCs finely support this process by a continuous bidirectional talk with oocyte, which ensure oocyte quality and competence. Specific pathways are involved in the cross-talk and in both GCs and oocyte development. This review summarizes data from GCs gene expression analysis concerning both their physiological role and their interaction with oocyte. We also explore the CGs transcriptome modifications induced by controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) or pathological conditions and their impact in reproduction. The transcriptome analysis of GCs could be a powerful tool to improve our knowledge about the pathways involved in oocyte development. This approach, associated with new technologies as RNA-seq could allow the identifications of new noninvasive biological markers of oocyte quality to increase the efficiency of clinical IVF. Moreover, GCs expression analysis could be useful to shed light on new therapeutic targets by providing new options for the treatment of infertility.

Chinese abstract

卵泡是由不同类型的细胞混合形成的结构体, 其中以作为卵母细胞生长的旁分泌调节器的颗粒细胞 (GCs) 为代表。颗粒细胞通过与卵母细胞的连续双向对话精细地支持这个过程, 以确保卵母细胞的质量和能力。对话中涉及的特异性通路与颗粒细胞和卵母细胞的生长相关。该综述总结了来自颗粒细胞基因表达分析的数据, 涉及它们的生理作用及其与卵母细胞的相互作用。我们还探讨由控制性卵巢刺激 (COS) 或病理条件下诱导的颗粒细胞转录组序列的变化及他们对复制的影响。颗粒细胞转录组的分析可能是一个强大的工具, 以提高我们对于认知涉及到卵母细胞发育相关通路的知识。这个通路, 与类似RNA序列之类的新技术相关, 可以作为新的无创生物标记物用于卵母细胞质量的鉴定, 以提高临床IVF的效率。此外, 颗粒细胞的表达分析可能有助于揭示新的治疗目标, 为不孕不育的治疗提供新的选择。

Keywords:

• Controlled ovarian stimulation
• cumulus cells
• granulosa cells
• in vitro fertilization
• microRNA
• oocyte quality
• transcriptome

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.