Adipokine chemerin impairs the receptive and metabolic functions of endometrial epithelial cells revealed by transcriptomic analysis

Endometrium, the lining of the uterus, changes dynamically in response to fluctuations in ovarian hormones. The proper endocrine environment regulates endometrial functions: menstruation and supporting pregnancy. Obesity is closely related to endometrial dysfunction, which seriously affects women's health and fertility, but the pathological mechanism is unknown. Chemerin is an adipokine involved in multiple biological events such as immunity and metabolism by acting on its functional receptors. This study aimed to characterize the effects of chemerin on human endometrial epithelial cells by RNA-Seq. Overall design: We used RNA-Seq (RNA-sequencing) to compare transcriptome levels in 12Z cells without or treated with recombinant human (rh)-chemerin. Six samples were included: NC-1, NC-2, NC-3, rhChemerin-1, rhChemerin-2, and rhChemerin-3.