PCOS decidualised endometrial stromal cells present with altered effects of androgens

The goal of the study was to assess transcriptome profile of non-decidualized (non-DE) and decidualized (DE) endometrial stromal cells (eSCs) obtained from women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS, eSCPCOS) and non-PCOS controls (eSCCtrl) in response to short-term estradiol (E2) and/or progesterone (P4) exposure with or without dihydrotestosterone (DHT). The eSCs used for RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) were isolated from proliferative stage endometrium from women with PCOS (diagnosed based on Rotterdam criteria) and non-PCOS controls (n=6 per group). The same eSCs were used for in vitro validation by immunofluorescence (IF; n=3/group). Tissue validation by immunohistochemistry (IHC) was done using whole biopsy formalin-fixed proliferative (PE) and secretory phase (SE) endometrial samples (IHC; n=6/cycle phase/group). Our data provided the observation that Decidualized eSCPCOS display a distinct transcriptome profile, especially in the presence of DHT. Overall design: DE eSCs (0.5 mM 8-Br-cAMP, 96 h), as model of SE, were treated with E2 and P4 (E2P4) with/without (±) DHT; while non-DE eSCs, as model of PE, were subjected to E2 ± DHT (post-treatment). The 24-hour steroid hormone exposure was followed by RNA-seq.