miR-132 is up-regulated in polycystic ovarian syndrome and inhibits granulosa cells proliferation via targeting Foxa1

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine metabolic disorders characterized by hyperandrogenism, polycystic ovaries and ovulatory dysfunction. Several studies have suggested that the aberrant expression of miRNAs serves an important role in the pathogenesis of PCOS, though the role and underling mechanism of microRNA-132 (miR-132) in the development of PCOS remain unclear. Methods: The expression of miR-132 in granulosa cells (GCs) derived from 26 PCOS patients and 30 healthy controls was detected through RT-qPCR. And the apoptosis levels of granulosa cells were measured by TUNEL.Granulosa-like tumor cell line (KGN) was cultured for cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was assays after over-expression of miR-132 or knockdown TargetScan was applied to analysis the potential targets of miR-132, which was further verified by luciferase assay, RT-qPCR and western blot. Results: The expression of miR-132 was declined in granulosa cells of PCOS patients. Meanwhile, the significantly increased apoptotic nuclei were present GCs of PCOS patients. Furthermore, over-expressed of miR-132 inhibited the proliferation of KCN cells. In addition, our results verified that miR-132 directly targeted Foxa1, knockdown of which suppressed KGN cells proliferation. Conclusion: Our results revealed that miR-132 inhibits the cell viability and induces apoptosis by directly interacting with Foxa1, indicating a role of miR-132 to be a potential target in the PCOS patients.