The expression of microRNA-197-3p regulates the proliferation of ovarian granulosa cells through CUL3 in polycystic ovarian syndrome.

MicroRNAs (miR) have been shown to exhibit marked dysregulation in polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Additionally, granulosa cell proliferation and apoptosis are important in PCOS pathogenesis. Considering this, the current study aimed at characterization of the regulatory function of miR-197-3p on the growth and proliferation of ovarian granulosa cells at the molecular level. The results showed that miR-197-3p is significantly repressed (P<0.05) in PCOS tissues and granulosa cells. Granulosa cell proliferation was significantly (P<0.05) inhibited by miR-197-3p overexpression via induction of apoptosis. In silico analysis predicted cullin 3 (CUL3) as the regulatory target of miR-197-3p, which was also confirmed by the dual luciferase reporter assay. CUL3 was overexpressed in KGN ovarian granulosa cells, and its silencing mimicked the tumor suppressive effects of miR-197-3p. Taken together, miR-197-3p exhibits a negative regulatory role in regulating granulosa ovarian cell proliferation via posttranscriptional repression of CUL3 in PCOS.