Yang Mei, Li Jianhua, An Yulin, Zhang Shuiwen
Center of Reproductive Medicine and Genetics, General Hospital of Beijing Army, 5 Nanmencang, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100700, China.
Tissue Cell. 2015 Oct;47(5):526-32. doi: 10.1016/j.tice.2015.06.003. Epub 2015 Jul 2.
Androgens have essential roles in the regulation of follicular development and female fertility. Androgen excess is the leading defect in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients and involved in the ovarian dysfunction. The aim of this study was to elucidate the regarding regulatory role of androgen in the follicular development of female mouse. Immunohistochemical staining and Western blot analyses were performed to detect androgen receptor (AR) and Connexin 43 (Cx43) expression in ovaries from both control and testosterone-treated group mice. In this study, localizations of AR and Cx43 were dramatically altered in testosterone-treated mouse ovaries. In addition, AR expression was significantly increased, whereas Cx43 expression was markedly decreased after testosterone treatment. Alterations of AR and Cx43 expression by testosterone with concomitant reduction of MII oocytes. Overall, these results suggest the involvement of androgen in the regulation of AR and Cx43 localizations in mouse ovary. Alterations of AR and Cx43 expression by testosterone may affect normal folliculogenesis. Together these findings will enable us to begin understanding the important roles of AR and Cx43 actions in the regulation of follicular development, as well as providing insights into the role of AR and Cx43 actions in the androgen-associated reproductive diseases such as PCOS.
雄激素在卵泡发育和女性生育调节中起着至关重要的作用。雄激素过多是多囊卵巢综合征(PCOS)患者的主要缺陷,并与卵巢功能障碍有关。本研究的目的是阐明雄激素在雌性小鼠卵泡发育中的相关调节作用。进行免疫组织化学染色和蛋白质印迹分析,以检测对照组和睾酮处理组小鼠卵巢中雄激素受体(AR)和连接蛋白43(Cx43)的表达。在本研究中,睾酮处理的小鼠卵巢中AR和Cx43的定位发生了显著改变。此外,睾酮处理后AR表达显著增加,而Cx43表达明显降低。睾酮导致AR和Cx43表达改变,同时MII期卵母细胞减少。总体而言,这些结果表明雄激素参与了小鼠卵巢中AR和Cx43定位的调节。睾酮引起的AR和Cx43表达改变可能会影响正常的卵泡发生。这些发现共同使我们能够开始了解AR和Cx43在卵泡发育调节中的重要作用,并为深入了解AR和Cx43在PCOS等雄激素相关生殖疾病中的作用提供见解。