title: Downregulation of the expression of inhibin α subunit and betaglycan in porcine cystic follicles.
abstract: Inhibins, as members of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) 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 α subunit and betaglycan in cystic follicles. In this study, the expressions of inhibin α subunit and betaglycan in cystic follicles were investigated using immunohistochemistry, real-time PCR and Western blot analysis. Both inhibin α subunit and betaglycan immunoreactivities were mainly localized in the granulosa cells of follicles. Expression of inhibin α 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 α 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 α 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.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Sciences, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Embryo Engineering, Jilin University, 5333 Xian Road, Changchun, Jilin 130062, P.R. of China.
authors.forename: Chunqiang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chunjing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hongjiao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Shuxiong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Jiahui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D007265:Inhibins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010048:Ovarian Cysts / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary*; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000378:metabolism*; D018125:Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism*; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011509:Proteoglycans; D018125:Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta; C094377:inhibin-alpha subunit; C071736:betaglycan; D007265:Inhibins