Polycystic ovary syndrome is transmitted via a transgenerational epigenetic process

Nour El Houda Mimouni (1) , Isabel Paiva (2) , Anne Laure Barbotin (1) , Fatima Ezzahra Timzoura (1) , Damien Plassard (3) , Stephanie Le Gras (3) , Gaetan Ternier (1) , Pascal Pigny (4) , Sophie Catteau-Jonard (1, 4) , Virginie Simon (1, 4) , Vincent Prevot (1) , Anne-Laurence Boutillier (2) , Paolo Giacobini (1)

1 LilNCog - Lille Neurosciences & Cognition - U 1172
2 LNCA - Laboratoire de neurosciences cognitives et adaptatives
3 IGBMC - Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire
4 CHRU Lille - Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire [CHU Lille]

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common reproductive and metabolic disorder affecting women of reproductive age. PCOS has a strong heritable component, but its pathogenesis has been unclear. Here, we performed RNA sequencing and genome-wide DNA methylation profiling of ovarian tissue from control and third-generation PCOS-like mice. We found that DNA hypomethylation regulates key genes associated with PCOS and that several of the differentially methylated genes are also altered in blood samples from women with PCOS compared with healthy controls. Based on this insight, we treated the PCOS mouse model with the methyl group donor S-adenosylmethionine and found that it corrected their transcriptomic, neuroendocrine, and metabolic defects. These findings show that the transmission of PCOS traits to future generations occurs via an altered landscape of DNA methylation and propose methylome markers as a possible diagnostic landmark for the condition, while also identifying potential candidates for epigenetic-based therapy.

Domaines: Gynécologie et obstétrique; Génomique, Transcriptomique et Protéomique [q-bio.GN]; Neurosciences [q-bio.NC]

Nour El Houda Mimouni, Isabel Paiva, Anne Laure Barbotin, Fatima Ezzahra Timzoura, Damien Plassard, et al.. Polycystic ovary syndrome is transmitted via a transgenerational epigenetic process. Cell Metabolism, 2021, 33 (3), pp.513-530.e8. ⟨10.1016/j.cmet.2021.01.004⟩. ⟨hal-03427354⟩