Single-cell transcriptomic analysis reveals regulative mechanisms of follicular selection and atresia in chicken granulosa cells.

Eggs are an important food source for people. Follicle selection and atresia are the two directions of pre-hierarchical follicles that affect egg production in chickens. Granulosa cells (GCs), the vital somatic cells in follicles, determine the fate of follicles.

IGF2/IGFBP4 reduces apoptosis and increases free cholesterol of chicken granulosa cells in vitro.

Follicle selection, a crucial step in maintaining continuous egg production in chickens, is a process that relies on granulosa cells (GCs). In this study, we aimed to identify the key genes that are involved in follicle selection from our previous single-cell transcriptomic data. We used a combination of techniques and assays, including quantitative real-time PCR, immunofluorescence, Oil Red O staining, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), monodansylcadaverine (MDC) assay, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay, cell counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, and 5-ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay.