Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), characterized by increased ovarian androgen biosynthesis, anovulation, and infertility, affects 5-7% of reproductive-age women. Genome-wide association studies identified PCOS candidate loci that were replicated in subsequent reports, including DENND1A, which encodes a protein associated with clathrin-coated pits where cell-surface receptors reside. However, th...

Valproic acid (VPA) is an anti-epileptic drug that has been associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)-like symptoms, including increased ovarian androgen production. The hyperandrogenemia likely reflects the stimulatory action of VPA on theca cell androgen synthesis and has been correlated to its activity as a histone deacteylase inhibitor in these cells. To determine whether VPA induces...

The cytologic localization and cellular levels of TGF alpha in the human ovary during follicular growth and regression were examined by avidin/biotin immunoperoxidase techniques with a monoclonal antibody to TGF alpha. In primordial follicles, only the oocyte showed intense immunostaining for TGF alpha, whereas the flattened pregranulosa cells were negative for the immunostaining. The earliest ...

OBJECTIVE to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of proliferative, apoptotic and steroidogenic enzyme markers in the ovaries of rats with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). METHODS twenty rats were divided into two groups: GCtrl - estrous phase, and PCOS - with polycystic ovaries. The GCtrl animals were subjected to a lighting period from 7 am to 7 pm, while the animals with PCOS group...

The developing ovarian follicle is one of the most rapidly proliferating normal tissues in vivo. Mesenchymal-epithelial cell interactions between theca cells and granulosa cells are essential for this follicular expansion. Ovarian hormones (i.e. estrogen and LH) may promote follicular development by regulating the local production of mesenchymal inducer proteins that mediate theca cell-granulos...

The Fas antigen (Fas) is a cell surface receptor that may be involved in the initiation and progression of follicle cell apoptosis during atresia. Fas initiates apoptosis in sensitive cells after binding Fas ligand (FasL). Other experiments have shown that expression of Fas mRNA and responsiveness to Fas-mediated apoptosis vary in bovine granulosa and theca cells during follicle development. In...

IGFs regulate gonadotrophin-stimulated proliferation and differentiation of granulosa and theca cells in vitro. However, the detailed pattern of mRNA expression of IGFs in bovine follicles remains controversial. The objectives of this study were therefore to describe the temporal and spatial pattern of expression of mRNA encoding IGF-I, IGF-II and the type 1 IGF receptor in bovine follicles in ...

Vitellogenic stage carp ovaries were collected aseptically and the cells of ovarian follicles were dispersed by trypsin treatment and cultivated as monolayer. Control cultures were grown in medium M199 alone. Media for experimental cultures were supplemented either with 100 µl ml-1 of CPH and CPS-carp GnRH (cultivated pituitary cell secretion affected by 10-6, 10-8, 10-10 M carp GnRH)....

In studies using isolated ovarian granulosa and thecal cells it is important to assess the degree of cross contamination. Marker genes commonly used for granulosa cells include FSHR, CYP19A1 and AMH while CYP17A1 and INSL3 are used for thecal cells. To increase the number of marker genes available we compared expression microarray data from isolated theca interna with that from granulosa cells ...

The aim of this study was to assess and compare the steroidogenic response to luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in cells of the theca interna and theca externa isolated from follicles at different stages of maturation. Cells of the theca interna and theca externa isolated from the largest, second largest and third-fifth largest preovulatory follicles of the chicken...