Evaluation of the potential of miR-21 as a diagnostic marker for oocyte maturity and embryo quality in women undergoing ICSI

Abstract

MicroRNAs are small molecules that play a crucial role in regulating a woman's reproductive system. The present study evaluates the expression of miR-21 in the serum, follicular fluid (FF), and cumulus cells (CCs) and their association with oocyte maturity and embryo quality in women undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Women subjects were divided into the case (54 Patients with female factor infertility) and control groups (33 patients with male factor infertility). The level of miR-21 was measured using Real-Time PCR. The level of miR-21 was significantly lower in the CCs, FF, and serum in the case compared to the control group (p < 0.05). MiR-21 abundance was higher in FF and CCs samples than in serum. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in CCs to FF in the case group (p < 0.05). A significant decrease in oocyte count, MII oocytes, and percentage of mature oocytes were observed in the case group (p < 0.05). The expression of miR-21 in FF and CCs was positively related to oocyte maturation, but no correlation with embryo development was observed. This study found that miR-21 is expressed less in women with female factor infertility, and human oocytes' development is crucially affected by the expression of miR-21. Therefore, miR-21 could provide new helpful biomarkers of oocyte maturity.

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

“…Hence, the authors proposed that differentially expressed miRNAs are involved in the regulation of steroidogenesis, apoptosis and proliferation of GCs [ 35 ]. According to Jenabi et al, miR-21 was down-regulated in women with female factor infertility [ 36 ]. Therefore, miR-21 may have a major developmental role in oocytes via suppression of genes, promoting apoptosis in CCs [ 37 , 38 , 39 ].…”

Genetic and Epigenetic Profiles of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and In Vitro Bisphenol Exposure in a Human Granulosa Cell Model

“…The influence of miR-21 extends to its target genes, including bone morphogenetic protein receptor type II (BMPR2), essential for oocyte-somatic cell communication. BMPR2 activation influences granulosa cell proliferation, BMP15 and GDF9 signaling, and disruptions in this pathway can lead to infertility and reproductive abnormalities [37]. Additionally, miR-21 regulates pentraxin-3 (PTX3), critical for granulosa cumulus cell expansion.…”

Evaluation of the expression level of microRNA-21, microRNA-15a, microRNA-372 in human follicular fluid stem cells-derived oocytelike cells (OLCs)

“…One of the microRNAs investigated in this study was microRNA-21. MicroRNA-21 has a regulatory role in many biological activities of the cell; therefore, it is considered a biomarker for the diagnosis of diseases including cancer and heart diseases ( Jenabi et al ., 2023 ; Jenike & Halushka, 2021 ). MicroRNA-21 also plays a vital role in the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells, and its inhibition causes a decrease in the differentiation of stem cells ( Sekar et al ., 2015 ).…”

“…MicroRNAs bind target mRNA by the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) to prevent mRNA translation and protein production; therefore, they play an important role in the posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression in human reproduction ( Li et al ., 2015 ; Wahid et al ., 2010 ). The expression of microRNAs in oocyte has been reported in various mammalian species, including human ( Xu et al ., 2011 ), bovine ( Abd El Naby et al, 2013 ), mice ( Yao et al ., 2014 ), and pig ( Hale et al ., 2020 ), and they can control the expression of genes related to oogenesis, including; oocyte development, cytoplasmic maturation ( Jenabi et al ., 2023 ), meiotic proteins formation ( Liu et al ., 2010 ), and cause the progression of the oocyte from the germinal vesicle stage to meiosis ІІ ( Wright et al ., 2016 ).…”