title: Temporal and spatial expression profiles of Frizzled 3 in the ovary during the estrous cycle.
abstract: Frizzled 3 is an important receptor in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, a conserved signaling pathway that regulates gene expression and controls diverse developmental processes. However, the role of this protein during follicular development in the adult ovary is not known. The present study was designed to investigate the expression and localization of Frizzled 3 mRNA and protein during the estrous cycle in the mouse ovary through in situ hybridization (ISH), real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry and western blot. ISH results showed that in proestrus, high expression of Frizzled 3 was found in the granulosa and stroma with weak levels in the corpus luteum. In estrus and diestrus, the stroma had high Frizzled 3 expression, but levels were low in granulosa cells and corpus luteum. In the metestrus, moderate expression of Frizzled 3 was found in the stroma but low to no expression was found in luteal cells and follicles. The mRNA and protein levels of Frizzled 3 were found to be the highest in proestrus and diestrus compared to estrus and metestrus (P < 0.05), confirming the ISH results. During estrus and diestrus, high Frizzled 3 expression was observed in the stroma and moderate levels in granulosa cells, and during estrus and proestrus, low expression was seen in the oocyte cell membrane. The western blot results further confirmed this change during the estrous cycle. Together, these results indicate that Frizzled 3 is involved in regulating follicular development and oocyte maturation during the estrous cycle.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Sport Physiology and Biomedicine, School of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.|Provincial Key Laboratory for Developmental Biology and Neurosciences, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.|College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Sport Physiology and Biomedicine, School of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.|Provincial Key Laboratory for Developmental Biology and Neurosciences, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Y P
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Liu
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.|College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Z K
authors.initials: ZK
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Y X
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Sport Physiology and Biomedicine, School of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.|Provincial Key Laboratory for Developmental Biology and Neurosciences, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.|College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Z C
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003338:Corpus Luteum / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004031:Diestrus / Q000235:genetics; D004971:Estrus / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D051157:Frizzled Receptors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D009865:Oocytes / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011359:Proestrus / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D051157:Frizzled Receptors; C486339:Fzd3 protein, mouse