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Regular Article |
a Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267
b Department of Pediatrics and the Reproductive Sciences Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
ABSTRACT
Ovarian growth and development are critically dependent upon the influence of endogenous estrogens, and both are highly regulated during the reproductive cycle. The observation that estrogen-receptor-
-deficient mice still exhibit follicular growth and development, together with other evidence, suggests that responsiveness of the ovary to estradiol occurs predominantly through the second estrogen receptor, ERß. We characterized the physiological regulation of ERß expression in ovarian follicles during the follicular phase of sheep that were synchronized for estrus during the breeding season with intravaginal progesterone implants (controlled internal drug release [CIDR] device; InterAg, Hamilton, New Zealand). Ovaries were removed at times corresponding to the early (EF) and late follicular phases (LF) of the ovine estrous cycle (12 h [n = 5] and 32 h [n = 5] after CIDR device removal, respectively). Sections of ovary were then hybridized with a cRNA probe corresponding to the 5' region of ovine ERß. ERß mRNA expression within the granulosa layer of different size follicles (size classes: 
3 mm, 3.1–4.0 mm, 4.1–5.0 mm, >5 mm) was quantified. ERß mRNA expression varied both with follicle size (P < 0.01) and with cycle stage (P < 0.01). In EF ewes, the highest levels of ERß mRNA expression were found in follicles 3 mm in size. ERß mRNA expression declined progressively thereafter among the different size classes with lowest levels expressed in >5-mm follicles. By contrast, expression of ERß mRNA in the 3.1- to 4.0-mm follicles of LF group was significantly higher than in the 3-mm size follicles and declined thereafter progressively to the >5-mm size levels as in the EF group. Furthermore, expression of ERß mRNA in 3-mm size follicles of LF group was significantly lower than the corresponding size class in the EF group. Lower expression of ERß mRNA in >5-mm follicle is suggestive of a down-regulation by the local estrogen milieu.
First decision: 12 March 2001.
1 This work was supported by NIH HD23812 to V.P. and U.S. Department of Agriculture 98-35203-6321 to H.T.J., Standards and Reagents, Morphology and Sheep Research Core Facilities of the Center for the Study of Reproduction (NIH P30-HD18528) at the University of Michigan.
2 Correspondence: Heiko T. Jansen, Dept. VCAPP, Washington State University, PO Box 646520, Pullman, WA 99164-6520. FAX: 509 335 4650; heiko{at}vetmed.wsu.edu
3 Current address: Department of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology and Physiology and the Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6520.
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