Occurrence of immunoreactivity for adipocyte-type fatty acid binding protein in degenerating granulosa cells in atretic antral follicles of mouse ovary.
The localization of adipocyte-type fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP) in the mature mouse ovary was examined by immuno-light and electron microscopy. Solitary round cells showing the distinct immunoreactivity for A-FABP were detected in 1-6 antral follicles. In sets of two consecutive sections in a mirror alignment on slide glasses which were treated for immunoreactivity for A-FABP and TUNEL reaction separately, cells immunoreactive for A-FABP appeared in the same antral follicles as containing cells exhibiting TUNEL-reaction. In immunoelectron microscopy, A-FABP-immunopositive cells were found to contain highly electron-dense nuclei of round, irregular or crescent shapes together with cytoplasmic remnants without any features of macrophages or cells of extrinsic origin. Therefore the cells were identified as apoptotic granulosa cells. The apoptotic cells immunoreactive for A-FABP were often seen to be enclosed/engulfed in adjacent cells exhibiting normal ultrastructures without containing numerous lysosomes. The present findings suggest that A-FABP is involved in the apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells, probably through its interaction with peroxisome proliferator activated receptors.
Nourani
Mohammad Reza
MR
Division of Histology, Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Owada
Yuji
Y
Kitanaka
Noriko
N
Sakagami
Hiroyuki
H
Hoshi
Hisae
H
Iwasa
Hiroo
H
Spener
Friedrich
F
Kondo
Hisatake
H
D017667:Adipocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006107:Granulosa Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL
C493411:Fabp4 protein, mouse; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins