Basal membrane remodeling during follicle histogenesis in the rat ovary: contribution of proteinases of the MMP and PA families.

In mammalian females, follicular units arise from the fragmentation of ovigerous cords, which spread over the first three postnatal days in the rat. The mechanisms underlying such a process of epithelial remodeling involve a specific balance between basal membrane (BM) deposition and degradation that has as yet not been precisely described. We have investigated the contribution of proteases in BM remodeling by localization of transcripts, protein, or enzymatic activity.

Unaltered development of the initial follicular waves and normal pubertal onset in female rats after neonatal deletion of the follicular reserve.

In rats, the pool of primordial follicles is established within the first 3 d postnatally (dpn). Immediately after their differentiation, a subset of follicles begins to grow and constitutes the initial follicular waves. In this study we investigated the development of these early growing follicles after deletion of the primordial follicle pool induced by 1.

Establishment of the reproductive function and transient fertility of female rats lacking primordial follicle stock after fetal gamma-irradiation.

In mammals, the primordial follicle stock is not renewable, and its size, therefore, limits the reproductive life span of the female. In this study we have investigated the morphological and functional differentiation of dysgenesic ovaries in female rats exposed in utero to 1.5 Gy gamma-irradiation.

Different patterns of anti-Müllerian hormone expression, as related to DMRT1, SF-1, WT1, GATA-4, Wnt-4, and Lhx9 expression, in the chick differentiating gonads.

In mammals, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is produced by Sertoli cells from the onset of testicular differentiation and by granulosa cells after birth. In birds, AMH starts to be expressed in indifferent gonads of both sexes at a similar level and is later up-regulated in males. We previously demonstrated that, unlike in mammals, the onset of AMH expression occurs in chick embryo in the absence of SOX9.