Transgenerational transmission of reproductive and metabolic dysfunction in the male progeny of polycystic ovary syndrome

As there are evidence that a male equivalent of PCOS may exist, we asked whether sons born to mother with PCOS (PCOS-sons) transmit reproductive and metabolic phenotypes to their male progeny. Here, in a Swedish nationwide register-based cohort and a clinical case-control study from Chile we found that PCOS-sons are more often obese and dyslipidemic.

Their serum miRNAs are found to potentially regulate PCOS-risk genes. Our prenatal androgenized PCOS-like mouse model with or without diet-induced obesity confirmed that reproductive and metabolic dysfunctions in F1 male offspring are passed down to F3. Small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) sequencing of F1-F3 sperm revealed distinct differentially expressed (DE) sncRNAs across generations in the androgenized, obese, and obese and androgenized lineages, respectively.