{
  "abstract": "Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) supports granulosa cell survival during follicular development, but the RNA networks involved remain incompletely understood. To investigate these networks, we integrated whole-transcriptome profiling and functional assays in cultured granulosa cells from chicken prehierarchical follicles. Transcriptomic comparisons included control, FSH and FSH plus leptomycin B (LMB), a nuclear export inhibitor. Integrated analysis of these profiles identified a candidate circARHGAP21/gga-miR-146a-5p/DEAF1 regulatory module. FSH increased circARHGAP21 and DEAF1 expression and decreased gga-miR-146a-5p abundance, whereas LMB opposed these changes in FSH-treated cells. Reporter assays showed that gga-miR-146a-5p suppressed reporter activity through the predicted sites in circARHGAP21 and the DEAF1 3′ untranslated region. Transfection with the oe-circARHGAP21 construct reduced apoptosis and increased follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) expression. Construct transfection also increased proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression and decreased caspase-3 (CASP3) expression. Cotransfection with a gga-miR-146a-5p mimic attenuated these effects, whereas DEAF1 overexpression produced changes similar to those observed after oe-circARHGAP21 construct transfection. Compared with the oe-circARHGAP21 construct group, the corresponding LMB-treated group showed lower DEAF1, FSHR and PCNA expression and higher CASP3 expression and apoptosis. Together, these findings identify an FSH-responsive circARHGAP21/gga-miR-146a-5p/DEAF1 module associated with granulosa cell survival and follicle-selection-related gene expression.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China",
    "Key Lab of Animal Production, Product Quality and Security, Ministry of Education, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yu Ou",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-6606-745X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Pucheng Wu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Bingkun Xu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Sheng Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Shengxiao Cao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yuhan Sun"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Zixin Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jinshuo Song"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Xue Sun"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Ning Qin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Rifu Xu"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0wbq5cc84bazv.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/cells15211939",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "0wbq5cc84bazv",
  "issns": [
    "2073-4409"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/15/21/1939",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Circular RNAs in diseases"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223710189",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-25",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0wbq5cc84bazv.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:02Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/cells15211939",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/15/21/1939"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Circular RNAs in diseases",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Integrated Transcriptomic and Functional Analyses Identify an FSH-Regulated circARHGAP21/gga-miR-146a-5p/DEAF1 Module in Chicken Granulosa Cells",
  "title_text": "Integrated Transcriptomic and Functional Analyses Identify an FSH-Regulated circARHGAP21/gga-miR-146a-5p/DEAF1 Module in Chicken Granulosa Cells",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:02Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0wbq5cc84bazv",
  "venue": "Cells",
  "versions": []
}