Growth Differentiation Factor-9 Stimulates Proliferation but Suppresses the Follicle-Stimulating Hormone-Induced Differentiation of Cultured Granulosa Cells from Small Antral and Preovulatory Rat Follicles1

Growth differentiation factor-9 stimulates inhibin production and activates Smad2 in cultured rat granulosa cells.

Ovarian inhibin production is stimulated by FSH and several TGFbeta family ligands including activins and bone morphogenetic proteins. Growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9) derived by the oocyte is a member of the TGFbeta/activin family, and we have previously shown that GDF-9 treatment stimulates ovarian inhibin-alpha content in explants of neonatal ovaries. However, little is known about GD...

Growth and differentiation factor-9 stimulates progression of early primary but not primordial rat ovarian follicle development.

The ovary contains a pool of primordial follicles containing oocytes arrested in meiosis that are the source of developing follicles for the female. Growth and differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9) is a member of the transforming growth factor beta superfamily of growth factors, and follicles of GDF-9 knockout mice arrest in the primary stage of development. The effect of GDF-9 treatment on the prim...

The Correlations of Anti-Mullerian Hormone, Follicle-Stimulating Hormone and Antral Follicle Count in Different Age Groups of Infertile Women

Luteinizing hormone receptor appearance in cultured porcine granulosa cells requires continual presence of follicle-stimulating hormone.

During the differentiation of ovarian granulosa cells, follicle-stimulating hormone (follitropin; FSH) mediates the induction of cell surface receptors for luteinizing hormone (lutropin; LH). Using primary cultures of porcine granulosa cells, we demonstrate that both the induction and maintenance of LH receptors are critically dependent upon the continual presence of FSH. The termination of FSH...

Neuronal Differentiation of Rat Hair Follicle Stem Cells: the Involvement of the Neuroprotective Factor Seladin-1 (DHCR24)

Background: The seladin-1 (selective Alzheimer disease indicator-1), also known as DHCR24, is a gene found to be down-regulated in brain region affected by Alzheimer disease (AD). Whereas, hair follicle stem cells (HFSC), which are affected in with neurogenic potential, it might to hypothesize that this multipotent cell compartment is the predominant source of seladin-1. Our aim was to evaluate...