Increased X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) expression and suppressed follicular apoptosis are important determinants in the regulation of follicular development by FSH. The objective of the present study was to examine the role and regulation of nuclear factorB (NF B) in the gonadotropic control of granulosa cell XIAP expression and follicular growth in vitro. FSH (100 ng/ml) increased ra...

Despite the well-established tumor suppressive role of TGFβ proteins, depletion of key TGFβ signaling components in the mouse ovary does not induce a growth advantage. To define the role of TGFβ signaling in ovarian tumorigenesis, we created a mouse model expressing a constitutively active TGFβ receptor 1 (TGFBR1) in ovarian somatic cells using conditional gain-of-function approach. Remarkably,...

Growth factors and steroids play an important role in the regulation of ovarian follicular development. In cattle, two of the earliest detectable differences between the healthy dominant follicle selected for development to the ovulatory stage and subordinate follicles destined to undergo atresia are the greater availability of IGF and the greater capacity to produce estradiol in the dominant f...

Folliculogenesis in domestic hens appears to be controlled by numerous factors, particularly the gonadotropins, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). The involvement of LH in follicular steroidogenesis has been described in some detail; however, the specific role of FSH has remained elusive. In 3 experiments, the effects of ovine (o)- or chicken (c)-derived FSH (oFSH,...

To reveal the mechanisms regulating the selective atresia of follicles in porcine ovaries, we examined the changes in the mRNA and protein levels of cell-death ligand, Fas/APO-1/CD95 ligand (FasL), and its receptor, Fas/APO-1/CD95 (Fas), and the localization of the proteins in granulosa cells during follicular atresia using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Western b...

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Granulosa cell tumors are the most frequent sex cord stromal tumor and account for approxim...

Genetic ablation of connexin37 (Cx37) or connexin43 (Cx43), the two gap junction proteins expressed by mouse ovarian granulosa cells, has been shown to result in impaired follicle development. We used patch-clamp techniques to evaluate quantitatively the contribution of these connexins to gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) among granulosa cells. The coupling conductance derived f...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects approximately 7% of the reproductive-age women. A growing body of evidence indicated that epigenetic mechanisms contributed to the development of PCOS. The role of DNA modification in human PCOS ovary granulosa cell is still unknown in PCOS progression. Global DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation were detected between PCOS' and controls' granulosa cell...

Experiments were conducted to determine the influence of basal lamina on the morphology of ovarian granulosa cells in vitro. Pure and intact basal lamina was isolated from the large preovulatory follicles of the chicken ovary and designated basal lamina of avian ovarian follicle (BLAOF). Examination of the isolated basal lamina with electron microscope revealed an ultrastructure that is similar...

With granulosa and theca cells, the ovaries are responsible for producing oocytes and secreting sex steroids such as estrogen and progesterone. Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) plays an important role in follicle atresia and embryo implantation. In this study, goat granulosa cells were isolated from medium-sized (4-6 mm) healthy follicles. Primary granulosa cells were immortalized by transfec...