Regulation of mammalian follicular development is tightly regulated by both cell death and survival signals, including endocrine (e.g. gonadotropin) and intra-ovarian regulators (e.g. Nodal and GDF9). The destiny of the individual follicle (growth/ovulation or atresia) is dependent on a delicate balance in the expression and action of factors promoting follicular cell proliferation, growth and ...

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily, which plays an important role in both ovarian primordial follicle recruitment and dominant follicle selection in mice. However, the role of AMH in folliculogenesis in humans has not been investigated in detail. In the present study, AMH expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry in ovarian secti...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect and mechanism of bone morphogenetic protein-6 (BMP-6) on the growth and maturation of mouse follicles in vitro. Preantral follicles isolated from mice were incubated with recombinant human BMP-6 (rhBMP-6) before analysis. BMP-6 expression was detected by immunofluorescence and western blot. Maturation of oocytes was observed microscopically. E...

introduction: melatonin acts as an indirect antioxidant and is a powerful direct free radical scavenger and direct responses to melatonin in the gonads are detected. this study aims to investigate the influence of different doses of melatonin on preantral follicle development and oogenesis of in vitro cultured mouse ovarian follicles. materials and methods: preantral follicles with diameters of...

Ovulation Induction and Oocyte Recovery Ovarian hyperstimulation was achieved using GnRH analogue (nafarelin acetate, Synarel®, Pfizer) along with human recombinant FSH (r-hFSH: Gonal-F®, MerckSerono) in a long down-regulation protocol. Starting gonadotrophin dose varied from 150-300 IU and was based on female age, body mass index, ovarian volume, basal FSH levels and the number of preantral fo...

A whole follicle culture system has been used to investigate the actions of gonadotrophic hormones, oestrogen and progesterone in the regulation of follicular development and steroidogenesis. Recombinant human FSH was required for the growth of preantral follicles and for Graafian morphogenesis, whereas recombinant LH was ineffective. While pure FSH was sufficient for growth and morphogenesis, ...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) on survival, activation and growth of ovine primordial follicles using histological studies. Pieces of ovine ovarian cortex were obtained and cultured for 6 days in Minimum Essential Medium supplemented with or without FSH (50 ng/mL). These fragments were then process to be used for histology compar...