Project description:The study aimed to identify miRNAs expression profiles associated with growth and regression of dominant-size follicles in bovine. Follicles were collected from abattoir ovaries and their status (healthy/atretic) was assessed by measuring steroid levels and aromatase expression. Corpora lutea (CL) were collected from ovarian pairs correponding to days 1 to 4 of the oestrus cycle. Total RNA was isolated from whole follicles at different developmental stages and from CL. An heterologous microarray (Exiqon, Denmark) approach followed by RT-qPCR validation (Qiagen, UK) was used to identify and compare miRNA profiles between large healthy follicles (diameter, 13–16 mm, n=6) and each of small (4–8 mm, n=6 pools of follicles), large atretic folllicles (13-16 mm, n=6) and CL (n=6). RNA from the above groups was hybridized to the miRCURY LNA™ microRNA Hi-Power Labeling Kit,Hy3™/Hy5™ (Exiqon) and hybridized on the miRCURY LNA™ microRNA Array (6th gen). A total of 17 and 57 microRNAs were differentially expressed (> 2 fold, adj. P-value < 0.05) between Large Healthy and each of Small and Large Atretic follicles, respectively, a fraction of which corresponded to registered bovine miRNA sequences. A subset of 5 bovine miRNAs (miR-144, miR-202,vmiR-451, miR-652, miR-873) were confirmed by qPCR to be upregulated in Large Healthy follicles, were enriched in mural granulosa cells and their predicted targets mapped to genes involved in follicular cell proliferation and differentiation, suggesting an involvemet of this subset of microRNAs in ovarian follicle development. In addition, the miR-183-96-183 cluster was identified as upregulated in CL and was shown to be involved in luteal survival and progesterone production.
Project description:Coordinated interactions between ovarian granulosa and theca cells are required for female endocrine function and fertility. To elucidate these interactions the regulation of the granulosa and theca cell transcriptomes during bovine antral follicle development were investigated. Granulosa cells and theca cells were isolated from small (<5 mm), medium (5-10 mm), and large (>10 mm) antral bovine follicles. A microarray analysis of 24,000 bovine genes revealed that granulosa cells and theca cells each had gene sets specific to small, medium and large follicle cells. Transcripts regulated (i.e., minimally changed 1.5-fold) during antral follicle development for the granulosa cells involved 446 genes and for theca cells 248 genes. Only 28 regulated genes were common to both granulosa and theca cells. Regulated genes were functionally categorized with a focus on growth factors and cytokines expressed and regulated by the two cell types. Candidate regulatory growth factor proteins mediating both paracrine and autocrine cell-cell interactions include macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP1 beta), teratocarcinoma-derived growth factor 1 (TDGF1), stromal derived growth factor 1 (SDF1; i.e., CXCL12), growth differentiation factor 8 (GDF8), glia maturation factor gamma (GMFG), osteopontin (SPP1), angiopoietin 4 (ANGPT4), and chemokine ligands (CCL 2, 3, 5, and 8). The current study examined granulosa cell and theca cell regulated genes associated with bovine antral follicle development and identified candidate growth factors potentially involved in the regulation of cell-cell interactions required for ovarian function. Experiment Overall Design: Granulosacell RNA samples from three groups of follicles different in size - small, medium, and large (pooled untreated ovaries) are compared between each other. Each group has 2 separate biological replicas; each replica contained pooled RNA from 20-40 ovaries from 6-10 different animals.