Characterization of mRNA profiles of the exosome-like vesicles in porcine follicular fluid

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 14; no. 6; p. e0217760
• Main Authors: Matsuno, Yuta, Kanke, Takuya, Maruyama, Natsumi, Fujii, Wataru, Naito, Kunihiko, Sugiura, Koji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 12.06.2019; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: 1-Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; AKT protein; Analysis; Animals; Bioinformatics; Biology and Life Sciences; Cell Communication; Cell interactions; Computational biology; Computational Biology - methods; Exosomes; Exosomes - chemistry; Exosomes - genetics; Exosomes - metabolism; Female; Fluids; Follicle-stimulating hormone; Follicles; Follicular fluid; Follicular Fluid - chemistry; Follicular Fluid - metabolism; Gametocytes; Gene Expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Granulosa cells; Granulosa Cells - chemistry; Granulosa Cells - metabolism; Immunoglobulins; Kinases; Laboratories; Life sciences; Mammals; MAP kinase; Medicine and Health Sciences; Messenger RNA; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Metabolism; MicroRNA; miRNA; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases - genetics; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases - metabolism; Mitogens; Novels; Oocytes; Oocytes - chemistry; Oocytes - metabolism; Organ Specificity; Organs; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases - genetics; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases - metabolism; Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-diphosphate; Phospholipids; Protein kinases; Proteins; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt - genetics; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt - metabolism; Research and analysis methods; RNA; RNA, Messenger - classification; RNA, Messenger - genetics; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Swine; Theca; Theca Cells - chemistry; Theca Cells - metabolism; Transcriptome; Vesicles; Japan; United States > US
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217760

Extracellular vesicles such as exosomes contain several types of transcripts, including mRNAs and micro RNAs (miRNAs), and have emerged as important mediators of cell-to-cell communication. Exosome-like vesicles were identified in the ovarian follicles of several mammalian species. Although the miRNA contents have been extensively characterized, the detailed investigation of their mRNA profiles is lacking. Here, we characterize the mRNA profiles of exosome-like vesicles in ovarian follicles in a pig model. The mRNA contents of the exosome-like vesicles isolated from porcine follicular fluid were analyzed and compared with those from mural granulosa cells (MGCs) using the Illumina HiSeq platform. Bioinformatics studies suggested that the exosomal mRNAs are enriched in those encoding proteins involved in metabolic, phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K) -protein kinase B (AKT), and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. While the mRNA profile of the exosome-like vesicles resembled that of MGCs, the vesicles contained mRNAs barely detectable in MGCs. Thus, while the majority of the vesicles are likely to be secreted from MGCs, some may originate from other cell types, including theca cells and oocytes, as well as the cells of non-ovarian organs/tissues. Therefore, the mRNA profiles unveiled several novel characteristics of the exosome-like vesicles in ovarian follicles.