In the present study we searched for prolactin receptor (PRL-R) in porcine ovarian theca tissue (Tc) of small, medium and large follicles, as well as in early corpus luteum (ECL). The objectives of this investigation were: 1) comparison of the direct effect of PRL action on progesterone (P4) and estradiol (E2) secretion from Tc and ECL cells in culture with adequate effects caused by luteinizin...

The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of testosterone (T) and estradiol-17β (E2) on the production of progesterone (P4) by granulosa cells, and of the E2 on the production of P4 and T by theca internal cells. In the first experiment, granulosa cells isolated from the largest (F1) and third largest (F3) preovulatory follicle were incubated for 4 h in short-term culture system, ...

Insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3) and its specific receptor RXFP2 are both expressed by theca interna cells of the growing antral follicle where they form an essential regulatory element in the production of the steroid precursor androstenedione. Using primary cultures of bovine theca cells from the mid follicular phase together with steroid agonists and antagonists we have examined how ovarian st...

BACKGROUND The effects of seminal plasma on the presence of the cytokines transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-6 in ovarian follicles and follicular fluid were studied shortly after insemination in gilts.Ovaries from gilts were sampled 5-6 h after insemination with either seminal plasma (SP), fresh semen in extender (Beltsville thawing solution, BTS), spermatozoa in e...

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), the principal neuropeptide regulator of pituitary ACTH secretion, is also produced at peripheral inflammatory sites, where it acts as a proinflammatory cytokine, and by the Leydig cell of the testis, where it exerts autocrine inhibition of testosterone biosynthesis. Because key ovarian functions, such as ovulation and luteolysis, represent aseptic inflamma...

During follicular atresia in the sheep and pig there is a marked reduction in the vasculature of the theca interna underlying the membrana granulosa. In the sheep there is no reduction of thecal blood vessels adjacent to the cumulus which remains viable. By contrast, in the pig the cumulus degenerates during atresia and the underlying thecal vasculature is greatly diminished. However, despite l...

Sex cord tumors with annular tubules are known to originate from the sex cord of embryonic gonads that synthesize Sertoli cells, Leydig cells, granulosa cells, and theca cells of the ovarian stroma, while ovarian small cell carcinoma of the hypercalcemic type is a type of neuroendocrine tumor. Both these tumors are uncommon, potentially malignant neoplasms in children. We report the case of a s...

Background. Although chronic hyperandrogenism, a typical feature of polycystic ovary syndrome, is often associated with disturbed reproductive performance, androgens have been shown to promote ovarian follicle growth in shorter exposures. Here, we review the main effects of androgens on the regulation of early folliculogenesis and the potential of their application in improving follicular in vi...