Variation analysis of PUM1 gene in Chinese women with primary ovarian insufficiency

Accumulating evidence has indicated that the genes involved in meiosis are highly correlated with ovarian function. Pumilio 1 (PUM1) is a RNA-binding protein which is involved in the meiotic process. It has been reported that the Pum1 knockout female mice displayed subfertility due to the decrease in primordial follicle pool. The aim of our study is to investigate whether variants of the PUM1 gene are responsible for primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) in Chinese women. We analyzed coding sequence and untranslated regions of the PUM1 gene in 196 Han Chinese women with non-syndromic POI and 192 controls. Seven novel variants were identified, but one of them was synonymous and six were intronic. Besides, seven known single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were found, and there were no significant differences in genotype and allele frequencies of the SNPs between patients and controls. The results suggest that the variants in PUM1 may not contribute to POI in Han Chinese women.