Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urnana, IL 61802, USA.
Life Sci. 2012 Oct 15;91(13-14):501-6. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2012.05.010. Epub 2012 Jun 4.
The ovary is a dynamic organ that undergoes cyclic structural and functional changes. Structurally, the internal architecture of the ovary constantly changes as follicles grow, rupture and transform into corpora lutea in a cyclical manner. Functionally, a variety of regulatory ovarian hormones are sequentially produced, and eggs are periodically released. As a highly vascularized organ, the ovarian structures and functions change in response to external stimuli that include but are not limited to pituitary gonadotropins. Following stimulation, the ovary synthesizes and releases autocrine and paracrine signals that play unique roles in regulating its function. Recent studies have identified endothelins as local regulators in the ovary that modulate multiple cyclic events, such as follicle growth, steroidogenesis, oocyte maturation, ovulation, corpus luteum formation and luteolysis. Interestingly, in all mammalian species examined to date, a common observation has been made: the ovary produces two pharmacologically similar endothelins (ET-1 and ET-2) but expresses two functionally different endothelin receptors (ET(A) and ET(B)) that often give rise to opposite physiological outcomes following activation by an endothelin. In this review, the physiological significance of the presence of the two ligand-two receptor endothelin system in the ovary will be discussed.
卵巢是一个具有动态结构和功能变化的器官。从结构上看，卵巢的内部结构随着卵泡的生长、破裂和周期性地转变为黄体而不断变化。从功能上看，卵巢会依次产生各种调节性的卵巢激素，并定期释放卵子。作为一个高度血管化的器官，卵巢的结构和功能会对包括垂体促性腺激素在内的各种外部刺激做出反应。在受到刺激后，卵巢会合成并释放自分泌和旁分泌信号，这些信号在调节其功能方面发挥着独特的作用。最近的研究发现，内皮素是卵巢中的局部调节因子，可调节多种周期性事件，如卵泡生长、类固醇生成、卵母细胞成熟、排卵、黄体形成和黄体溶解。有趣的是，在迄今为止所有检查过的哺乳动物物种中，人们都观察到一个共同的现象：卵巢产生两种药理学上相似的内皮素（ET-1 和 ET-2），但表达两种功能不同的内皮素受体（ET(A)和 ET(B)），这些受体在被内皮素激活后往往会产生相反的生理结果。在这篇综述中，将讨论在卵巢中存在两种配体-两种受体内皮素系统的生理意义。
