STAT3 signaling stimulates miR-21 expression in bovine cumulus cells during in vitro oocyte maturation.

ABSTRACT: MicroRNAs are potent regulators of gene expression that have been widely implicated in reproduction and embryo development. Recent studies have demonstrated that miR-21, a microRNA extensively studied in the context of disease, is important in multiple facets of reproductive biology including folliculogenesis, ovulation, oocyte maturation and early mammalian development. Surprisingly, little is known about the mechanisms that regulate miR-21 and no studies have characterized these regulatory pathways in cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs). We therefore investigated miR-21 in an in vitro model of bovine oocyte maturation. Levels of the primary transcript of miR-21 (pri-miR-21) and mature miR-21 increased markedly in COCs over the maturation period. Cloning of the bovine pri-miR-21 gene and prom

SUBMITTER: Tscherner A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6070548 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature