Up-regulation of urokinase plasminogen activator messenger ribonucleic acid and protein in hen granulosa cells by transforming growth factor alpha in vitro during follicular development.

The aim of the present study was to examine the regulatory role of transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha) on urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) gene expression and protein levels in hen granulosa cells from different stages of ovarian follicular development in vitro. Granulosa cells from the first (F1), the second and third (F2-3), and the fourth, fifth, and sixth (F4-6) largest preovulatory follicles were cultured for 21 h in the absence and presence of TGF alpha (10 ng/ml). The uPA mRNA abundance and protein content were determined by Northern and Western blot analysis, respectively. Cell-associated and secreted PA activity was measured by a fibrinolysis assay and characterized by zymography. Hen granulosa cells produce a uPA with a molecular mass of about 35 kDa and a transcript size of approximately 2.5 kb. Basal uPA mRNA abundance, protein content, and activity were highest in granulosa cells from F4-6 follicles and decreased with follicular maturation. Granulosa cell uPA mRNA levels, protein content, and activity were increased in the presence of TGF alpha, reaching maximal levels in granulosa cells from less mature follicles, although the percentage of stimulation was higher in cells from late stages of follicular development. These findings clearly demonstrate specific expression of uPA in proliferatively active granulosa cells and responsiveness of uPA to TGF alpha at both transcriptional and translational levels. They support the concept that PA of the urokinase type plays an important role in extracellular matrix remodeling during TGF alpha-induced granulosa cell proliferation and ovarian follicular growth.