Guo Xiaotong, Wang Xuzhao, Wei Jiahui, Ma Yuxiao, Wang Feiyi, Sun Qing, Sun Hongcai, Zhu Guiyu
Shandong Provincial Key laboratory for Livestock Germplasm Innovation & Utilization, College of Animal Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China.
Shandong Provincial Key laboratory for Livestock Germplasm Innovation & Utilization, College of Animal Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China.
Poult Sci. 2025 Feb;104(2):104716. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.104716. Epub 2024 Dec 20.
During ovary development, the dormant primordial follicles (PF) are stimulated and begin to develop into primary follicles (PrF), a process called follicle activation. Only activated follicles can continue to grow and release the eggs in the future, making the female animal fertile. The molecular events during PF activation are not fully understood. In this study, we analyzed the transcriptome of ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) before and after PF activation from 4- and 7-day-old chicks and identified that BMP signaling was induced during this process. Further, exogenous addition of Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 (BMP2) protein significantly promotes the proliferation of GCs, thereby increasing the number of PrF in the in vitro ovary culture system. Conversely, when the BMP2 was blocked, the proliferation of GCs is inhibited, leading to a decrease in the number of PrF generated. These findings reveal the critical role of BMP2 in regulating the activation of chicken PF and provide new strategies for improving egg production performance.
在卵巢发育过程中，处于休眠状态的原始卵泡（PF）受到刺激并开始发育为初级卵泡（PrF），这一过程称为卵泡激活。只有被激活的卵泡才能在未来继续生长并释放卵子，从而使雌性动物具备生育能力。PF激活过程中的分子事件尚未完全明确。在本研究中，我们分析了4日龄和7日龄雏鸡PF激活前后卵巢颗粒细胞（GCs）的转录组，并确定在此过程中BMP信号被诱导。此外，外源性添加骨形态发生蛋白-2（BMP2）蛋白可显著促进GCs的增殖，从而增加体外卵巢培养系统中PrF的数量。相反，当BMP2被阻断时，GCs的增殖受到抑制，导致生成的PrF数量减少。这些发现揭示了BMP2在调节鸡PF激活中的关键作用，并为提高产蛋性能提供了新策略。
