Luteinization of porcine preovulatory follicles leads to systematic changes in follicular gene expression.
The LH surge initiates the luteinization of preovulatory follicles and causes hormonal and structural changes that ultimately lead to ovulation and the formation of corpora lutea. The objective of the study was to examine gene expression in ovarian follicles (n = 11) collected from pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) approaching estrus (estrogenic preovulatory follicle; n = 6 follicles from two sows) and in ovarian follicles collected from pigs on the second day of estrus (preovulatory follicles that were luteinized but had not ovulated; n = 5 follicles from two sows). The follicular status within each follicle was confirmed by follicular fluid analyses of estradiol and progesterone ratios. Microarrays were made from expressed sequence tags that were isolated from cDNA libraries of porcine ovary. Gene expression was measured by hybridization of fluorescently labeled cDNA (preovulatory estrogenic or -luteinized) to the microarray. Microarray analyses detected 107 and 43 genes whose expression was decreased or increased (respectively) during the transition from preovulatory estrogenic to -luteinized (P<0.01). Cells within preovulatory estrogenic follicles had a gene-expression profile of proliferative and metabolically active cells that were responding to oxidative stress. Cells within preovulatory luteinized follicles had a gene-expression profile of nonproliferative and migratory cells with angiogenic properties. Approximately, 40% of the discovered genes had unknown function.
Agca
Cansu
C
Department of Animal Science, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA.
Ries
James E
JE
Kolath
Sarah J
SJ
Kim
Jae-Hwan
JH
Forrester
Lawrence J
LJ
Antoniou
Eric
E
Whitworth
Kristin M
KM
Mathialagan
Nagappan
N
Springer
Gordon K
GK
Prather
Randall S
RS
Lucy
Matthew C
MC
D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D003338:Corpus Luteum / Q000502:physiology*; D004958:Estradiol / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D015571:Follicular Fluid / Q000737:chemistry; D005498:Follicular Phase / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods*; D017403:In Situ Hybridization / Q000379:methods; D034461:Luteinization / Q000235:genetics*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000378:metabolism*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000032:analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013552:Swine
D015415:Biomarkers; D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol