The aim of this study was to determine the individual and combined effect of activin and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) on somatic and germ cell development in cultured pre-antral follicles. Pre-antral bovine follicles (mean diameter 157 +/- 3, range 132-199 microm) were cultured for 8 days in serum-free medium in the presence of either 100 ng/ml of recombinant human activin A (rhAct A), 10...

Background: Growth differentiation factor -9B (GDF-9B) is an oocyte derived growth factor, this protein is essential for development of ovarian follicles and act mainly by binding to its receptor on the surface of granulosa cells. The effect of this factor on the growth of follicles in various developmental stages particularly primordial and primary follicles is unknown. The aim of this study w...

In the present study, we evaluated the contributions of antral follicle development and antral granulosa cell-released factor(s) to the acquisition of a mature mouse oocyte plasma membrane organization and cortical granule distribution. This has been performed by comparing in-vitro matured oocytes derived from early antral follicles (here referred to as denuded oocytes) or from pre-ovulatory fo...

The number of antral follicles (a stage of folliculogenesis) determinates the quantity of oocytes potentially available for ovulation. It is one of the characteristics used to specify so called ovarian reserve which represents important factor to predict the result of IVF cycle, among other things. AFC can be set by usage of transvaginal ultrasonography (a sonography that applies an ultrasound ...

Bisphenol A (BPA) is used as the backbone for plastics and epoxy resins, including various food and beverage containers. BPA has also been detected in 95% of random urine samples and ovarian follicular fluid of adult women. Few studies have investigated the effects of BPA on antral follicles, the main producers of sex steroid hormones and the only follicles capable of ovulation. Thus, this stud...

Ewes from selected lines of sheep from each of two breeds, Finns (high ovulation rate, low ovulation rate and control lines with respective ovulation rates of 5.4, 2.7 and 3.3) and Merinos (T Merinos selected for increased ovulation rate and control Merinos with respective ovulation rates of 1.9 and 1.2) were used to examine how selection to alter ovulation rate had altered follicle development...

Ovarian follicular development involves continual remodelling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) forming the basement membrane and intercellular framework that support granulosa cell (GC) growth and differentiation. Insight into the molecular regulation of ovarian ECM remodelling is potentially translatable to tissue remodelling elsewhere in the body. We therefore studied the link between a gene...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relation between reproductive age and ultrasound (US)-based follicle counts and the reproducibility of follicle counts in regularly cycling women with proven fertility. DESIGN Prospective observational study. SETTING Tertiary fertility center. PATIENT(S) Healthy female volunteers with proven fertility, recruited by advertisement in local newspapers. INTERVEN...

The processes that precisely control the selection of ovulatory follicles from a growing cohort are poorly understood. This reduction in follicle number occurs through several phases of selection, consequently we limit the use of the term 'selection' to the first major reduction of growing follicles, at the pre- to early antral stage. The final process of selection, achieving the appropriate ov...