Correlation study on serum miR-222-3p and glucose and lipid metabolism in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract

Abstract Objective microRNAs (miRNAs) play pivotal roles in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), an endocrine and metabolic disorder that commonly occurs in women of childbearing age. This paper aimed to measure miR-222-3p expression in sera of PCOS patients and to explore its clinical value on PCOS diagnosis and prediction of diabetic and cardiovascular complications. Methods Totally 111 PCOS patients and 94 healthy people were recruited and assigned to the overweight (ow) group and non-overweight (non-ow) group, followed by determination of serum miR-222-3p expression. The diagnostic efficiency of miR-222-3p on PCOS ow and non-ow patients was analyzed. Correlations between miR-222-3p and glycolipid metabolic indicators and diabetic and cardiovascular complications in PCOS were analyzed. The downstream target of miR-222-3p was predicted and their binding relationship was verified. The correlation between PGC-1α and miR-222-3p was analyzed. Results miR-222-3p was highly-expressed in PCOS patients (p 1.290 could basically be diagnosed with PCOS. AUC of miR-222-3p diagnosing PCOS ow patients was 0.9647 and cut-off value was 2.425 (85.11% sensitivity, 100% specificity), suggesting that ow people with serum miR-222-3p > 2.425 could basically be diagnosed with PCOS. miR-222-3p was positively-correlated with fasting plasma glucose (FPG), fasting insulin (FINS), homeostatic model assessment–insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and negatively-correlated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). miR-222-3p was independently-correlated with diabetic and cardiovascular complications in PCOS (p < 0.05). High expression of miR-222-3p predicted high risks of diabetic and cardiovascular complications in PCOS. miR-222-3p targeted PGC-1α and was negatively-correlated with PGC-1α (r = − 0.2851, p = 0.0224; r = − 0.3151, p = 0.0310). Conclusion High expression of miR-222-3p assisted PCOS diagnosis and predicted increased risks of diabetic and cardiovascular complications. miR-222-3p targeted PGC-1α and was negatively-correlated with PGC-1α.

Keywords

• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Overweight
• miR-222-3p
• Glucose and lipid metabolism
• Receiver operating characteristic curve
• PGC-1α