Although ovarian follicle growth is under the influence of many growth factors and hormones of which FSH remains one of the most prominent regulators. Therefore, factors affecting the sensitivity of ovarian follicles to FSH are also important for follicle growth. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) has an inhibitory effect on follicle growth by d...

Reproductive efficiency in dairy cattle has been decreased over the last 5 decades despite significant gains in genetic selection, improved reproductive technologies and nutritional care. In high-yielding dairy cattle, the negative energy balance (NEB) during the first week post-partum adversely affects ovarian activity, mainly follicle growth and steroidogenesis. Circulating levels of non-este...

Acquisition of the luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) on granulosa cells of the dominant follicle is essential to physiological LH-mediated effects on the final stages of follicular growth, final maturation of the oocyte, ovulation and luteinization of the follicular wall. Therefore, LHR plays a key role in the final maturation of the dominant follicle from follicular dominance to ovulation. In...

Genes that are required for cell proliferation control in Drosophila imaginal discs were tested for function in the female germ-line and follicle cells. Chimeras and mosaics were produced in which developing oocytes and nurse cells were mutant at one of five imaginal disc overgrowth loci (fat, lgd, lgl, c43 and dco) while the enveloping follicle cells were normal. The chimeras were produced by ...

Effects of the non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor letrozole on ovarian function in cattle were determined. The hypothesis that letrozole would arrest growth of the dominant follicle, resulting in emergence of a new follicular wave at a predictable post-treatment interval, was tested. Heifers were assigned randomly to four groups 4 days after follicular ablation (~2½ days after wave emergence) an...

The study of ovarian folliculogenesis has been of great interest to scientists and clinicians in the human and veterinary health fields for more than 20 centuries. Initial studies of the ovarian follicle were based on anatomical descriptions post-mortem, followed by histologic and endocrinologic evaluation of ovarian status. The introduction of high resolution ultrasonography in the 1980s provi...

The aim of this study was to test whether ovulation from an ovary affects the health of oocytes from dominant follicles in that ovary two cycles later. A total of 80 women each with two intact ovaries underwent 270 treatment cycles (155 natural cycles and 115 clomiphene citrate cycles) all showing unilateral ovulation. The results from the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment were grouped acc...

In order to investigate potential changes in insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) during human follicle maturation, we examined the IGFBP profiles in follicular fluid from follicles in different stages of maturation. Samples were obtained from ovaries of women with regular menstrual cycles and of subjects with cycle abnormalities and polycystic ovaries (diagnosed as polycystic o...

Follicular growth over 2 mm in diameter is mainly regulated by gonadotrophins (FSH and LH). However, it is possible that between-follicle interactions may be involved in ensuring ovulation of a specific number of follicles. The present study tested specific hypotheses regarding: (1) a stimulatory role of atretic follicles on differentiation of follicles of the next wave; (2) a stimulatory role ...