Downregulation of the expression of inhibin ? subunit and betaglycan in porcine cystic follicles.

ABSTRACT: Inhibins, as members of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-?) superfamily, downregulate the synthesis and secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in an endocrine manner. The role of inhibin/betaglycan in the ovary regulation recently gained attention. To date, no data exist on the function of inhibin ? subunit and betaglycan in cystic follicles. In this study, the expressions of inhibin ? subunit and betaglycan in cystic follicles were investigated using immunohistochemistry, real-time PCR and Western blot analysis. Both inhibin ? subunit and betaglycan immunoreactivities were mainly localized in the granulosa cells of follicles. Expression of inhibin ? subunit and betaglycan was inferior in cystic follicles compared with that in normal large follicles. However, the result of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed no significant difference in the decreasing in concentration of inhibin ? subunit in cystic follicular fluid compared with the control (P>0.05). In this study, we explored the effects of FSH on betaglycan expression in granulosa cells in vitro. As expected, a significant increase in the expressions of betaglycan mRNA and protein in granulosa cells was observed in response to exogenous FSH (30 ng/ml) (P<0.05) compared with the control. Consequently, this study provides evidence that the expressions of inhibin ? subunit and betaglycan are inferior in cystic follicles, and this may be caused by the decrease in FSH in the presence of a cystic follicle.

SUBMITTER: Wang C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4667659 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature