Kristensen Stine Gry, Ebbesen Pernille, Andersen Claus Yding
Laboratory of Reproductive Biology - Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
Laboratory of Reproductive Biology - Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2015 Feb 5;401:189-201. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2014.12.012. Epub 2014 Dec 17.
Little is known of the early stages of human follicular development and the complex processes that regulate follicular growth. To identify genes of potential importance, we analysed follicle-related transcripts in five populations of isolated size-matched human preantral follicles by microarray analysis. Oocyte-specific genes were found to be the most abundant and differentially expressed transcripts and included germ cell transcription factors LHX8 and SOHLH2 which were significantly down-regulated during preantral follicle development. Differentially expressed genes also included transcription factors of NOTCH signalling, IGF2, orphan nuclear receptor LRH-1, and homeobox gene HOXA7, indicating potentially important regulatory roles for these genes during early human folliculogenesis. We also found that FSHR mRNA and protein were present in the earliest stages of preantral follicles, whereas LHR was absent. In conclusion, our data identify specific oocyte and somatic genes in small human follicles that impact early follicle growth, and provide foundation for further analysis of the signalling pathways involved in early human folliculogenesis.
人们对人类卵泡发育的早期阶段以及调节卵泡生长的复杂过程了解甚少。为了确定具有潜在重要性的基因，我们通过微阵列分析，对五个分离出的大小匹配的人类窦前卵泡群体中的卵泡相关转录本进行了分析。发现卵母细胞特异性基因是最丰富且差异表达的转录本，其中包括生殖细胞转录因子LHX8和SOHLH2，它们在窦前卵泡发育过程中显著下调。差异表达的基因还包括NOTCH信号通路的转录因子、IGF2、孤儿核受体LRH-1和同源框基因HOXA7，这表明这些基因在人类早期卵泡发生过程中可能具有重要的调节作用。我们还发现，FSHR mRNA和蛋白存在于窦前卵泡的最早阶段，而LHR则不存在。总之，我们的数据确定了影响人类小卵泡早期生长的特定卵母细胞和体细胞基因，并为进一步分析人类早期卵泡发生所涉及的信号通路提供了基础。
