Research Projects

PCOS has a strong heritable component, but the transmission of PCOS traits to offspring from mother via epigenetic inheritance process has not been clarified. Epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, are used as biomarker to diagnose or predict patient at risk of various diseases. The present study will determine the epigenetic process underlying the transmission and development of PCOS in offspring delivered by PCOS woman. The study hypothesizes that a changed landscape of DNA methylation passed down from a PCOS mother causes the transmission of PCOS features to children. To prove this, the study will examine DNA methylation patterns in PCOS women's whole blood (WB) and compare with methylation pattern in the same patient's female baby umbilical cord blood (UCB), which will serve as offspring blood. Arrays profiling of DNA methylome will be carried out on paired samples of WB and UCB drawn from individual with or without PCOS coming for delivery. The differentially expressed methylated genes will be validated in a larger number of samples by Pyrosequencing. Pathway analysis will be performed based on the profiling results, and identified target genes will be measured using qPCR. Accordingly, the diagnostic utility of the DNA methylome for the early identification of PCOS will be investigated in this study.