MiR-125b Regulates Primordial Follicle Assembly by Targeting Activin Receptor Type 2a in Neonatal Mouse Ovary

The establishment of the primordial follicle pool is crucial for fertility in mammalian females, and the interruption of overall micro-RNA production by Dicer1 conditional knockout in the female reproductive system results in infertility. However, there are few reports about the functions of individual micro-RNA in regulating primordial follicle assembly. The present study aimed to investigate the function of miR-125b, which is conserved and preferentially expressed in mammalian ovary during primordial follicle assembly. Detection of miR-125b in the developing mouse ovaries by real-time PCR and in situ hybridization showed that it was highly expressed perinatally and specifically located in the ovarian somatic cells. MiR-125b overexpression blocked the process of primordial follicle assembly in cultured newborn mouse ovaries, while its knockdown promoted this process. Further studies showed that miR-125b regulated the activin/Smad2 signaling in neonatal mouse ovary by directly targeting the 3'-untranslated region of activin receptor type 2a (Acvr2a). Overexpression of miR-125b in neonatal mouse ovary suppressed the Acvr2a protein level, attenuating activin/Smad2 signaling, while knockdown of miR-125b showed the opposite effects. In addition, recombinant human activin A (rh-ActA) down-regulated miR-125b in the neonatal mouse ovary. Overexpression of miR-125b attenuated the promoting effects of rh-ActA on primordial follicle assembly. Taken together, these data suggest that miR-125b blocks the process of primordial follicle assembly, and miR-125b may play this role by regulating the expression of Acvr2a in the activin/Smad2 signaling pathway.