Abnormal Expression of Prolyl Oligopeptidase Mice

• Published in: Biomedicines Vol. 11; no. 7
• Main Authors: Han, Suo, Wang, Shimeng, Fan, Xiang, Chen, Mengchi, Wang, Xiaojie, Huang, Yingtong, Zhang, Hongdan, Ma, Yinyin, Wang, Jing, Zhang, Chunping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 01.07.2023
• Subjects: Dehydroepiandrosterone; Fibrosis; Proline; Proteases; Stein-Leventhal syndrome; Testosterone; Transforming growth factors; China
• ISSN: 2227-9059; 2227-9059
• DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11071927

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder and metabolic syndrome. Ovarian fibrosis pathological change in PCOS has gradually attracted people’s attention. In this study, we constructed a PCOS mouse model through the use of dehydroepiandrosterone. Sirius red staining showed that the ovarian tissues in PCOS mice had obvious fibrosis. Prolyl oligopeptidase (POP) is a serine protease and N-acetyl-seryl-aspartyl-lysyl-proline (Ac-SDKP) is its catalytic product. Studies show that abnormal expression and activity of POP and Ac-SDKP are closely related to tissue fibrosis. It was found that the expression of POP and Ac-SDKP was decreased in the ovaries of PCOS mice. Further studies showed that POP and Ac-SDKP promoted the expression of matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP-2) expression and decreased the expression of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) in granulosa cells. Hyperandrogenemia is a typical symptom of PCOS. We found that testosterone induced the low expression of POP and MMP2 and high expression of TGF-β1 in granulosa cells. POP overexpression and Ac-SDKP treatment inhibited the effect of testosterone on TGF-β1 and MMP2 in vitro and inhibited ovarian fibrosis in the PCOS mouse model. In conclusion, PCOS ovarian tissue showed obvious fibrosis. Low expression of POP and Ac-SDKP and changes in fibrotic factors contribute to the ovarian pathological fibrosis induced by androgen.