title: Association between expression of cumulus expansion markers and real-time proliferation of porcine follicular granulosa cells in a primary cell culture model.
abstract: Folliculogenesis is a compound process that involves both ovarian follicle growth and oocyte development, which is tightly attached to the follicular wall. During this process, cells that form the follicle structure undergo substantial morphological and molecular modifications that finally lead to differentiation and specialization of ovarian follicular cells. The differentiation of ovarian cells encompasses formation of follicle, which is composed of theca (TCs), mural granulosa (GCs), and cumulus cells (CCs). It was previously hypothesized that GCs and CCs represent undifferentiated and highly specialized follicular cells, respectively, which may have similar primordial cell origins. In this study, we investigated the expression pattern of cumulus expansion markers such as COX2, HAS2, PTX3, and TSG6 in porcine GCs during short-term, in vitro culture. We hypothesized that these genes may display an important function in GCs in relation to cellular real-time proliferation. The expression pattern of COX2, HAS2, PTX3, and TSG6 was evaluated after using RT-qPCR in relation to confocal microscopy observations of protein expression and distribution during real-time proliferation of porcine follicular GCs. The COX2 and HAS2 mRNAs were highly expressed after 120 h of in vitro culture (IVC), whereas PTX3 and TSG6 mRNAs were increased during the first 24-48 h of IVC (P less than 0.001, P less than 0.01). Conversely, all of the encoded proteins were highly expressed after 144-168 h of IVC as compared to other culture periods (P less than 0.001, P less than 0.01). When analyzing the realtime proliferation of GCs in vitro, we observed a logarithmic increase of cell proliferation between 0 h and 120 h of IVC. However, after 120-168 h of IVC, the cells reached the lag phase of proliferation. Since it is well accepted that porcine GCs undergo luteinization shortly after 24-48 h of IVC, the expression pattern of investigated genes indicated that Cox2 and Has2 are independent from the LH surge, but their increased levels may be upregulated by cell proliferation in vitro. Moreover, higher expression of PTX3 and TSG6 during first 24 h and/or 48 h of IVC suggested that their levels are accompanied by porcine GCs luteinization process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ciesiółka
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Budna
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bryja
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kranc
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chachuła
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomaterials and Experimental Dentistry, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dyszkiewicz-Konwińska
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Piotrowska
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary Sciences, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bukowska
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary Sciences, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Antosik
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bruska
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary Sciences, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Brüssow
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nowicki
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.|Department of Histology and Embryology, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zabel
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.|Department of Anatomy, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kempisty
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000502:physiology; D054885:Cumulus Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D005260:Female; D006107:Granulosa Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D023421:Models, Animal; D009866:Oogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000166:cytology; D061251:Primary Cell Culture; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers