Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 23, 2025

Meiotic Spindle Assessment in Mouse Oocytes by siRNA-mediated Silencing
09:16

Meiotic Spindle Assessment in Mouse Oocytes by siRNA-mediated Silencing

Published on: October 11, 2015

11.7K

Oocyte Maturation and miRNAs: Studying a Complicate Interaction to Reveal Possible Biomarkers for Female Infertility

Eleni Nazou1, Anastasios Potiris1, Despoina Mavrogianni2

  • 1Third Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University General Hospital "ATTIKON", Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 124 62 Athens, Greece.

Diseases (Basel, Switzerland)
|June 26, 2024
PubMed

Insights

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate key processes in mammalian oocyte maturation and granulosa cell function, impacting fertility. Understanding miRNA roles is crucial for developing new diagnostic and treatment approaches for infertility.

Area of Science:

  • Reproductive biology
  • Molecular biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in critical cellular processes such as granulosa cell metabolism, apoptosis, fertilization, and proliferation, all of which are linked to infertility.
  • Oocyte maturation and growth are complex events influenced by various molecular factors, including non-coding RNAs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the association between microRNA expression and mammalian oocyte maturation.
  • To identify key microRNAs involved in regulating granulosa and cumulus cells during oogenesis.

Main Methods:

  • A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases.
  • 33 relevant studies were included in this review.

Main Results:

  • let-7b, let-7c, and miR-21 were identified as significant miRNAs regulating granulosa and cumulus cells.
  • Disruption of Dicer, an enzyme essential for miRNA biogenesis, critically affects oogenesis, oocyte maturation, and embryogenesis.
  • MicroRNAs modulate crucial cellular mechanisms including apoptosis, steroidogenesis, genome integrity, angiogenesis, and antioxidative response, thereby influencing oocyte maturation.

Conclusions:

  • MicroRNAs play a vital role in mammalian oocyte maturation and granulosa cell function.
  • Further elucidation of specific miRNA functions and mechanisms is essential for advancing diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for infertility and ovarian disorders.
Keywords:
Dicercumulus cellsgranulosa cellsinfertilitymicroRNAs (miRNAs)

More Related Videos

A Neural Network-Based Identification of Developmentally Competent or Incompetent Mouse Fully-Grown Oocytes10:04

A Neural Network-Based Identification of Developmentally Competent or Incompetent Mouse Fully-Grown Oocytes

Published on: March 3, 2018

6.6K
Defining the Program of Maternal mRNA Translation during In vitro Maturation using a Single Oocyte Reporter Assay08:00

Defining the Program of Maternal mRNA Translation during In vitro Maturation using a Single Oocyte Reporter Assay

Published on: June 16, 2021

4.4K

Related Concept Videos

Oogenesis02:07

Oogenesis

In human women, oogenesis produces one mature egg cell or ovum for every precursor cell that enters meiosis. This process differs in two unique ways from the equivalent procedure of spermatogenesis in males. First, meiotic divisions during oogenesis are asymmetric, meaning that a large oocyte (containing most of the cytoplasm) and minor polar body are produced as a result of meiosis I, and again following meiosis II. Since only oocytes will go on to form embryos if fertilized, this unequal...
63.6K
MicroRNAs01:22

MicroRNAs

MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns (non-coding regions of a gene) or intergenic regions (stretches of DNA present between genes). Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself, forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After the pre-miRNA...
3.0K