Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul Health and Technology University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Department of Histology and Embryology, Izmir Economy University, School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey.
Histol Histopathol. 2020 Nov;35(11):1337-1351. doi: 10.14670/HH-18-258. Epub 2020 Sep 17.
mTOR is a member of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway that participates in cell growth, proliferation, protein synthesis, transcription, angiogenesis, apoptosis and autophagy. mTOR and MAPK pahways are two important key signal pathways which are related to each other. We investigated the role of mTOR and other signaling molecules in rat ovaries and uteruses in stages of the estrous cycle. Young adult female rats were divided into four groups as proestrous, estrous, metestrous and diestrous according to vaginal smears. Immunohistochemical staining of mTORC1, IGF1, PI3K, pAKT1/2/3, ERK1 and pERK1/2 was performed and pAKT1/2/3 and ERK1 were also analyzed using western blotting on ovarian and uterine tissue samples. According to our results, PI3K/Akt/mTOR and ERK/pERK showed an increase in the rat ovulation period. When all the groups were evaluated the immunoreactivities for all of the antibodies were detected in the oocytes, granulosa and theca cells, corpus luteum and stroma of ovary and lamina propria, surface and glandular epithelium of uterus with the strongest observed with anti-ERK1 antibody and then with a decreasing trend with anti-mTORC1, anti-pAkt1/2/3, anti-IGF1, anti-PI3K and anti-pERK1/2 antibodies in the proestrus and estrus stages. Differently from other parts of the ovary, highest antibody expression in the corpus luteum was observed in the metestrous stage. Moreover, the existence of pAKT1/2/3 and ERK1 proteins was confirmed with the Western blotting technique. We suggest that mTOR and mTOR-related ERK signaling molecules may participate in the rat ovulation process.
mTOR 是 PI3K/Akt/mTOR 信号通路的一个成员，参与细胞生长、增殖、蛋白质合成、转录、血管生成、细胞凋亡和自噬。mTOR 和 MAPK 途径是两个相互关联的重要关键信号通路。我们研究了 mTOR 和其他信号分子在发情周期各阶段大鼠卵巢和子宫中的作用。根据阴道涂片，将年轻成年雌性大鼠分为发情前期、发情期、发情后期和发情间期四组。对卵巢和子宫组织样本进行 mTORC1、IGF1、PI3K、pAKT1/2/3、ERK1 和 pERK1/2 的免疫组织化学染色，并使用 Western blot 分析 pAKT1/2/3 和 ERK1。根据我们的结果，PI3K/Akt/mTOR 和 ERK/pERK 在大鼠排卵期间增加。当所有组都进行评估时，所有抗体的免疫反应性都在卵母细胞、颗粒细胞和膜细胞、卵巢的黄体和基质以及子宫的固有层、表面和腺上皮中被检测到，用抗 ERK1 抗体观察到最强的免疫反应性，然后随着抗 mTORC1、抗 pAkt1/2/3、抗 IGF1、抗 PI3K 和抗 pERK1/2 抗体的减少趋势在发情前期和发情期。与卵巢的其他部位不同，在发情后期，黄体中观察到最高的抗体表达。此外，使用 Western blot 技术证实了 pAKT1/2/3 和 ERK1 蛋白的存在。我们认为 mTOR 和 mTOR 相关的 ERK 信号分子可能参与大鼠排卵过程。
