Peroxiredoxin 2 Inhibits Granulosa Cell Apoptosis During Follicle Atresia Through the NFKB Pathway in Mice

Peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX2) has been known to act as an antioxidant enzyme whose main function is H2O2 reduction in cells. We aimed to study the expression patterns of PRDX2 in mouse ovaries and explore the function of this protein in apoptosis of granulosa cells (GCs). We found that the expression of the PRDX2 protein in atretic follicle GCs was markedly higher than in healthy follicle GCs. In vitro, the transfection of siRNA targeting the Prdx2 gene inhibited the proliferation and induced the apoptosis of primary cultured GCs. Furthermore, suppression of PRDX2 resulted in the augmentation of endogenous H2O2, and the ability to eliminate the exogenous H2O2 was attenuated. The expression of PRDX2 and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFKB), whose activity was inhibited by binding to IKB, increased in GCs treated with various concentrations of H2O2 for 30 min. However, no significant change in cytoplasmic IKB expression was observed. At 2 h after treatment with H2O2, nuclear NFKB ...