Background: Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a pleiotropic cytokine of interleukin-6 family with a remarkable range of biological actions such as proliferative effects on the granulosa and theca cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of LIF on the growth and maturation of mouse fresh and vitrified preantral follicles, an in vitro model was developed. Methods: The ovaries of...

1. The growth .energy of the granulosa cells in the ovarian follicles of normal guinea pig ovaries varies with the size of the follcle, and follows a definite growth curve. The growth energy in small follicles is relatively low, then a gradual rise takes place with increase in size of the follicle up to a maximum which is reached when the follicle attains medium size. This ascending part of the...

Hair graying and hair loss are prominent and common characteristics of the elderly population. In some individuals these processes can significantly impact their quality of life, leading to depression, anxiety and other serious mental health problems. Accordingly, there has been much interest in understanding the complex physiological changes within the hair follicle in the aging individual. It...

The dermal papilla is a cluster of mesenchymal cells located at the base of the hair follicle which have a number of important roles in the regulation of hair growth. As a consequence, in vitro models of these cells are widely used to study the molecular mechanisms which underlie hair follicle induction, growth and maintenance. While dermal papilla from rodent hair follicles can be digested pri...

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, and angiogenesis. It has long been known that bFGF acts as a powerful mitogen for various mammalian granulosa cells in culture. To investigate the possible involvement of bFGF expression in follicle initiation and growth in vivo, we performed nested RT-PCR on ovarian cortical biopsies and quantitative PCR ...

Hair follicle development and growth are regulated by Wnt signalling and depend on interactions between epidermal cells and a population of fibroblasts at the base of the follicle, known as the dermal papilla (DP). DP cells have a distinct gene expression signature from non-DP dermal fibroblasts. However, their origins are largely unknown. By generating chimeric mice and performing skin reconst...

In the present paper, we develop an extensive theoretical analysis of the deterministic model for the control of ovulation in mammals proposed by Mariana et al., (1994), which is an extension of Lacker's model. Mariana et al. incorporated an age decaying factor in follicle maturity, and kept follicle growth law as Lacker first proposed. However, they produced only some numerical examples simula...

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-Mllerian hormone (AMH) is a product of growing ovarian follicles. Its concentration in blood may also reflect the non-growing follicle (NGF) pool (the ovarian reserve) and the rate of activation of follicle growth, and be of value in determining likely age at menopause. We have established AMH concentrations in women from age -0.3 to 59 years, using published data from normal women (n=1099...

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...