Mitogen-activated protein kinase 3/1 (Mapk3/1) pathway is critical for LH signal transduction during ovulation. However, the mechanisms remain incompletely understood. We hypothesized that Mapk pathway regulates ovulation through transcriptional regulation of ovulatory genes. To test this hypothesis we used immature mice superovulated with equine and human chorionic gonadotropins (eCG and hCG) ...

BACKGROUND Human follicular fluid contains several substances, such as cytokines and growth factors, which may affect follicular growth and maturation. The present study examines the relative contribution of macrophages and granulosa cells in the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and adrenomedullin in the human ovulatory follicle. METHODS Both follicular fluid samples an...

Commercially available, but not yet characterized, the AVG-16 granulosa cell line was established from granulosa cells of medium porcine follicles. To examine the suitability of the AVG-16 cell line for studying the molecular mechanism of action of various environmental oestrogens, we investigated: 1/ cell morphology (by standard haematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining); 2/ basal and follicle-stim...

UNLABELLED Adult testicular granulosa cell tumors are rare sex cord- stromal tumors of which only 45 have been previously reported. As compared with their ovarian counterparts, these tumors may follow a more aggressive course because the proportion of malignant cases is higher. We report here a unique case of a 78-year Caucasian with a left sided adult type granulosa cell tumor with a heterolog...

The highly conserved polo-like kinases (Plks) are potent regulators of multiple functions in the cell cycle before and during mitotic cell division. We investigated the expression pattern of Plk genes and their potential role(s) in the rat ovary during the periovulatory period. Plk2 and Plk3 were highly induced both in intact ovaries and granulosa cells in vivo after treatment with the luteiniz...

The aim of this study was to determine the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), total antioxidant status (TAS) and accumulation of Hsp70 in porcine ovarian granulosa cells after deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) exposure in vitro. Porcine ovarian granulosa cells were incubated with DON/ZEA administrations as follows: group A (10/10 ng/mL), group B (100/...

STUDY QUESTION Do the adipocytokines, leptin and adiponectin affect the granulosa cell expression of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) and its receptor (AMHR-II)? SUMMARY ANSWER Leptin suppresses AMH mRNA levels in human luteinized granulosa cells through the JAK2/STAT3 pathway, while adiponectin has no such effect. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY AMH is one of the most reliable markers of ovarian reserve...

The oocyte-secreted polypeptide growth factors, growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) and bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15, also known as GDF9B) have both been shown to be essential for ovarian follicular development and ovulation rate. In addition, it is known from both in vivo and in vitro studies that these factors co-operate in some manner. To date, most studies examining the in vitro ...

In the present study we have examined the presence of Fas, Fas ligand (FasL), and p53 in rat granulosa cells during follicular development and atresia, especially in relation to the granulosa cell cycle progression and the onset of granulosa cell apoptosis. Fas, FasL, and p53 proteins were immunolocalized, and their contents were determined by Western blotting. Granulosa cell apoptosis was asse...

The objective of the present work was to study the effect of a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor (fadrozole) on proliferation, estradiol production, aromatase expression and telomerase activity (TA) in pig granulosa cells (GC) from small (1–2 mm) and large (5–7 mm) follicles. The cells were treated with fadrozole for 48 h and 72 h in basal and FSH-stimulated conditions. Fadrozole caused a decrea...