Aberrant activation of the Hedgehog signaling pathway in granulosa cells from patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

The molecular mechanism that triggers polycystic ovary syndrome is mysterious. Abnormal ovarian granulosa cells are one of the causes of PCOS. Therefore, we carried out RNA-seq in ovarian granulosa cells from patients with PCOS and normal controls and found that Hedgehog signaling pathway members Ihh and ptch2 were abnormally highly expressed in the PCOS group. Granulosa cells from 22 patients with PCOS and 21 controls with normal ovulation were collected. Subsequent qPCR tests also indicated that the expression of ptch1, gli1, and gli2 of other downstream members of Hh in the PCOS group was significantly higher than that in the control group. These results indicate that abnormally activated Hh signaling pathway, especially Ihh signal, may have a profound influence on PCOS.