Expression of paralogs of cytochrome P 450 21a1 pseudogene (Cyp21a1-ps) and endogenous retrovirus SC1 (SC1) in the rat ovary during the ovulatory process.

This study assesses the relatively high incidence of the expression of paralogs of several pseudogenes within the cascade of expression of functional genes in the rat ovary in response to an ovulation-stimulating dose of gonadotropin. Immature Wistar rats were primed with 10 IU equine chorionic gonadotropin subcutaneously, and 48 h later the 12-h ovulatory process was initiated by 10 IU hCG subcutaneously. Ovarian RNA was extracted at 0, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h after injecting the animals with hCG.

Comprehensive analysis of ovarian gene expression during ovulation using differential display.

Mammalian ovulation is a normal biological process that is initiated when a gonadotropic hormone stimulates G protein-coupled receptors in the plasma membrane of cells in ovarian follicles. This article outlines differential display (DD) protocols and associated methods that have been used to discover more than 30 genes that are expressed in the rat ovary during the ovulatory process. Details are provided regarding the methods for total RNA extraction, reverse transcription (RT), DD-polymerase chain reaction (PCR), polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), Northern analysis of the differentially expressed cDNA fragments, cloning of the cDNA fragments, sequencing of the cDNA, and in situ hybridization of the cDNA fragments with sections of ovarian tissue.

Temporal and spatial patterns of ovarian gene transcription following an ovulatory dose of gonadotropin in the rat.

In recent years, there have been a number of efforts to identify genes that are expressed in mature ovarian follicles in response to an ovulatory dose of LH or its homologue hCG. This review keys on 20 ovulation-specific genes that we have identified by the molecular procedure known as differential display. The objective is to use this sampling of genes to illustrate the diversity in the temporal and spatial patterns of expression of genes in the ovary following the stimulus of this gonadal target tissue by a single glycoprotein hormone.

Ovulation: new dimensions and new regulators of the inflammatory-like response.

Ovulation is a complex process that is initiated by the lutenizing hormone surge and is controlled by the temporal and spatial expression of specific genes. This review focuses on recent endocrine, biochemical, and genetic information that has been derived largely from the identification of new genes that are expressed in the ovary, and from knowledge gained by the targeted deletion of genes that appear to impact the ovulation process. Two main areas are described in most detail.