The preantral-early antral follicle transition is the penultimate stage of follicular development in terms of gonadotropin dependence and follicle destiny (growth versus atresia). Follicular growth during this period is tightly regulated by oocyte-granulosa-theca cell interactions. Formation of the theca cell layer is a key event that occurs during this transitional stage. Granulosal factor(s) ...

BACKGROUND Ovarian follicular development is primarily dependent on pituitary gonadotropins. Identification of gonadotropin-inducible genes in the ovary is one of the effective approaches for the study of follicular development. In this study we identify rat homologue of p120, a nuclear transcription co-activator, as one of the FSH inducible genes in the rat granulosa cells. METHODS A full-le...

Protein kinases, transcription factors and other apoptosis- and proliferation-related proteins can regulate reproduction, but their involvement in sexual maturation remains to be elucidated. The general aim of the in vivo and in vitro experiments with porcine ovarian granulosa cells was to identify possible intracellular regulators of female sexual maturation. For this purpose, proliferation (e...

This study investigated the receptor mechanism(s) by which the hormone melatonin directly affects ovarian function. Expression of MT1 and MT2 melatonin receptor mRNA was detected in the rat ovaries both by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization with digoxigenin-labeled oligoprobes. Specific 2-[125I]iodomelatonin binding was significantly higher in ovarian tiss...

Apoptosis in granulosa cells plays a crucial role in ovarian follicular atresia, but the intracellular regulating mechanism, especially the mitochondrion-dependent apoptosis signalling pathway, is still largely unknown. This study examined whether the mitochondrial pathway is associated with granulosa cell apoptosis during atresia in pig ovaries. Both mRNAs of caspase-9 and apoptotic protease-a...

Introduction: Among the endocrine diseases, hypothyroidism is the commonest after diabetes.Thyroid hormones (T3,T4) are essential for genital organs function. Apoptosis process in ovarian cells plays a significant role of development in ovarian follicles. The aim of the present study was determine the apoptotic index induced by hypothyroidism in rat ovarian follicles. Materials and Method...

This study investigated how Michauxia campanuloides affects the Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA) expression in granulosa cells, ovarian histomorphology and serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC) rats. Rats were divided into control (C), treatment 1 (T 1) 2 2) groups. The rats T groups received aqueous extract of M. at doses 20 mg/kg/day 40 orally for 21 days, respectively. Serum TAC le...

Background: In this study we aimed to investigate the distribution and expression level of pro anti-apoptotic proteins, Bax Bcl-2, in different developmental stages ovarian follicles any relations between these proteins follicle atresia. Materials Methods: For that purpose, bilateral 16 ovaries adult 8 mice were received tissues fixed 10% neutral buffered formalin. Routine tissue processing pro...

Interactions between mesenchymal-derived thecal cells and epithelial-derived granulosa cells are essential for follicular development in the ovary. These mesenchymal-epithelial cell interactions are in part mediated by keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and Kit ligand (KL). This study investigates the hypothesis that thecal cell-derived growth factors (e.g. KGF an...

BMPs expressed in the ovary differentially regulate steroidogenesis by granulosa cells. BMP-9, a circulating BMP, is associated with cell proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation in various tissues. However, the effects of BMP-9 on ovarian function have yet to be elucidated. Here we investigated BMP-9 actions on steroidogenesis using rat primary granulosa cells. BMP-9 potently suppressed FS...