Mimouni, Nour El Houda and Paiva, Isabel and Barbotin, Anne-Laure and Timzoura, Fatima Ezzahra and Plassard, Damien and Le Gras, Stephanie and Ternier, Gaetan and Pigny, Pascal and Catteau-Jonard, Sophie and Simon, Virginie and Prevot, Vincent and Boutill
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.