title: Expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α during ovarian follicular growth and development in Sprague-Dawley rats.
abstract: Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) has been identified as a transcription factor that is involved in diverse physiological and pathological processes in the ovary. In this study, we examined whether HIF-1α is expressed in a cell- and stage-specific manner during follicular growth and development in the mammalian ovaries. Using immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis, HIF-1α expression was observed in granulosa cells specifically and was significantly increased during the follicular growth and development of postnatal rats. Furthermore, pregnant mare serum gonadotropin also induced HIF-1α expression in granulosa cells and ovaries during the follicular development of immature rats primed with gonadotropin. Moreover, we also examined proliferation cell nuclear antigen, a cell proliferation marker, during follicular growth and development and found that its expression pattern was similar to that of HIF-1α protein. Granulosa cell culture experiments revealed that proliferation cell nuclear antigen expression may be regulated by HIF-1α. These results indicated that HIF-1α plays an important role in the follicular growth and development of these 2 rat models. The HIF-1α-mediated signaling pathway may be an important mechanism regulating follicular growth and development in mammalian ovaries in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Provincial Key Laboratory for Developmental Biology and Neurosciences, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Z H
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Provincial Key Laboratory for Developmental Biology and Neurosciences, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: L Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Provincial Key Laboratory for Developmental Biology and Neurosciences, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Provincial Key Laboratory for Developmental Biology and Neurosciences, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Y Q
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Provincial Key Laboratory for Developmental Biology and Neurosciences, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: J Q
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Provincial Research Center for Animal Transgenesis and Biopharming, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
authors.forename: X H
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Provincial Key Laboratory for Developmental Biology and Neurosciences, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Z C
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006801:Humans; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C497444:Hif1a protein, rat; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit