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In this study, we investigated DNA methylation characteristics and their impact on gene expression in granulosa cells obtained from PCOS patients. Transcriptome analysis found that differentially expressed genes were mainly enriched in pathways of insulin resistance, fat cell differentiation, and steroid metabolism in PCOS. Overall DNA methylation level in granulosa cells was reduced in PCOS, and the first introns were found to be the major genomic regions that were hypomethylated in PCOS. Integrated analysis of transcriptome, DNA methylation, and miRNAs in ovarian granulosa cells revealed a DNA methylation and miRNA coregulated network and identified key candidate genes for pathogenesis of PCOS, including BMP4, ETS1, and IRS1. Our study shed more light on epigenetic mechanism of PCOS and provided valuable reference for its diagnosis and treatment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fcell.2021.664843","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,25]],"date-time":"2021-05-25T05:45:26Z","timestamp":1621921526000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":41,"title":["Characterization of DNA Methylation and Screening of Epigenetic Markers in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Pengbo","family":"Cao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wanting","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peijun","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xihe","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Buhe","family":"Nashun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"R79","DOI":"10.1530\/REP-18-0583","article-title":"Obesity induces ovarian inflammation and reduces oocyte quality.","volume":"158","author":"Alexandria","year":"2019","journal-title":"Reproduction"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13072-018-0205-1","article-title":"Consistent inverse correlation between DNA methylation of the first intron and gene expression across tissues and species.","volume":"11","author":"Anastasiadi","year":"2018","journal-title":"Epigenetics Chromatin"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"456","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fertnstert.2008.06.035","article-title":"The Androgen Excess and PCOS Society criteria for the polycystic ovary syndrome: the complete task force report.","volume":"91","author":"Azziz","year":"2009","journal-title":"Fertil. 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