The regulation of granulosa cells (GCs) proliferation and apoptosis is the key step in follicular selection which determines the egg production performance of poultry. miR-202-5p has been reported to be involved in regulating the proliferation and apoptosis of mammalian ovarian GCs. However, its role in regulating the proliferation and apoptosis of goose GCs is still unknown. In the present study, the GCs of pre-hierarchical follicles (phGCs, 8-10 mm) and those of hierarchical follicles (hGCs, F2-F4) were used to investigate the role of miR-202-5p in cell proliferation and apoptosis during follicle selection. In phGCs and hGCs cultured in vitro, miR-202-5p was found to negatively regulate cell proliferation and positively regulate cell apoptosis. The results of RNA-seq showed that BTB Domain Containing 10 (BTBD10) is predicted to be a key target gene for miR-202-5p to regulate the proliferation and apoptosis of GCs. Furthermore, it is confirmed that miR-202-5p can inhibit BTBD10 expression by targeting its 3'UTR region, and BTBD10 was revealed to promote the proliferation and inhibit the apoptosis of phGCs and hGCs. Additionally, co-transfection with BTBD10 effectively prevented miR-202-5p mimic-induced cell apoptosis and the inhibition of cell proliferation. Meanwhile, miR-202-5p also remarkably inhibited the expression of Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-Bisphosphate 3-Kinase Catalytic Subunit Beta (PIK3CB) and AKT Serine/Threonine Kinase 1 (AKT1), while it was significantly restored by BTBD10. Overall, miR-202-5p suppresses the proliferation and promotes the apoptosis of GCs through the downregulation of PIK3CB/AKT1 signaling by targeting BTBD10 during follicular selection. Our study provides a theoretical reference for understanding the molecular mechanism of goose follicular selection, as well as a candidate gene for molecular marker-assisted breeding to improve the geese' egg production performance.
Keywords: BTBD10; apoptosis; follicular selection; granulosa cell; miR-202-5p; proliferation.