Smad 3 May Regulate Follicular Growth in the Mouse Ovary
Although Smad 3 is known to serve as a signaling intermediate for the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) family in nonreproductive tissues, its role in the ovary is unknown. Thus, we used a recently generated Smad 3 -deficient (Smad 3â/â) mouse model to test the hypothesis that Smad 3 alter...
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Published in | Biology of reproduction Vol. 66; no. 4; pp. 917 - 923 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Madison, WI
Society for the Study of Reproduction
01.04.2002
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Although Smad 3 is known to serve as a signaling intermediate for the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) family in nonreproductive
tissues, its role in the ovary is unknown. Thus, we used a recently generated Smad 3 -deficient (Smad 3â/â) mouse model to test the hypothesis that Smad 3 alters female fertility and regulates the growth of
ovarian follicles from the primordial stage to the antral stage. In addition, we tested whether Smad 3 affects the levels
of proteins that control apoptosis, survival, and proliferation in the ovarian follicle. To test this hypothesis, breeding
studies were conducted using Smad 3â/â and wild-type mice. In addition, ovaries were collected from Smad 3â/â and wild-type
mice on Postnatal Days 2â90. One ovary from each animal was used to estimate the total number of primordial, primary, and
antral follicles. The other ovary was used for immunohistochemical analysis of selected members of the B-cell lymphoma/leukemia-2
family of protooncogenes (Bax, Bcl-2, Bcl-x), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (Cdk-2).
The results indicate that Smad 3 â/â mice have reduced fertility compared with wild type mice. The results also indicate that Smad 3 may not affect the size of the primordial follicle pool at birth, but it may regulate growth of primordial follicles to the
antral stage. Further, the results indicate that Smad 3 may regulate the expression of Bax and Bcl-2, but not Bcl-x, Cdk-2, and PCNA. Collectively, these data suggest that Smad 3 may play an important role in the regulation of ovarian follicle growth and female fertility. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0006-3363 1529-7268 |
DOI: | 10.1095/biolreprod66.4.917 |