Transcriptomic data of bovine ovarian granulosa cells of control and High A4 cows.

Microarray analysis using Affymetrix Bovine GeneChip 1.0 ST Array to determine RNA expression analysis was performed on somatic granulosa cells from two different groups of cows classified based on androstenedione concentration within the follicular fluid (Control vs High A4) of estrogen-active dominant follicles. The normalized linear microarray data was deposited to the NCBI GEO repository (GSE97017 - RNA Expression Data from Bovine Ovarian Granulosa Cells from High or Low Androgen-Content Follicles).

A high-androgen microenvironment inhibits granulosa cell proliferation and alters cell identity.

A naturally occurring bovine model with excess follicular fluid androstenedione (High A4), reduced fertility, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)-like characteristics has been identified. We hypothesized High A4 granulosa cells (GCs) would exhibit altered cell proliferation and/or steroidogenesis. Microarrays of Control and High A4 GCs combined with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis indicated that High A4 GCs had cell cycle inhibition and increased expression of microRNAs that inhibit cell cycle genes.

Transcriptomes of bovine ovarian follicular and luteal cells.

Affymetrix Bovine GeneChip® Gene 1.0 ST Array RNA expression analysis was performed on four somatic ovarian cell types: the granulosa cells (GCs) and theca cells (TCs) of the dominant follicle and the large luteal cells (LLCs) and small luteal cells (SLCs) of the corpus luteum. The normalized linear microarray data was deposited to the NCBI GEO repository (GSE83524).

Gene expression profiling of bovine ovarian follicular and luteal cells provides insight into cellular identities and functions.

After ovulation, somatic cells of the ovarian follicle (theca and granulosa cells) become the small and large luteal cells of the corpus luteum. Aside from known cell type-specific receptors and steroidogenic enzymes, little is known about the differences in the gene expression profiles of these four cell types. Analysis of the RNA present in each bovine cell type using Affymetrix microarrays yielded new cell-specific genetic markers, functional insight into the behavior of each cell type via Gene Ontology Annotations and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis, and evidence of small and large luteal cell lineages using Principle Component Analysis.

VEGFA splicing: divergent isoforms regulate spermatogonial stem cell maintenance.

Despite being well-known for regulating angiogenesis in both normal and tumorigenic environments, vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) has been recently implicated in male fertility, namely in the maintenance of spermatogonial stem cells (SSC). The VEGFA gene can be spliced into multiple distinct isoforms that are either angiogenic or antiangiogenic in nature. Although studies have demonstrated the alternative splicing of VEGFA, including the divergent roles of the two isoform family types, many investigations do not differentiate between them.

Loss of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) isoforms in granulosa cells using pDmrt-1-Cre or Amhr2-Cre reduces fertility by arresting follicular development and by reducing litter size in female mice.

Because VEGFA has been implicated in follicle development, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of granulosa- and germ cell-specific VEGFA loss on ovarian morphogenesis, function, and female fertility. pDmrt1-Cre mice were mated to floxed VEGFA mice to develop granulosa-/germ cell-specific knockouts (pDmrt1-Cre;Vegfa-/-). The time from mating to first parturition was increased when pDmrt1-Cre;Vegfa-/- females were mated to control males (P = 0.

Altered theca and cumulus oocyte complex gene expression, follicular arrest and reduced fertility in cows with dominant follicle follicular fluid androgen excess.

Aspiration of bovine follicles 12-36 hours after induced corpus luteum lysis serendipitously identified two populations of cows, one with High androstenedione (A4; >40 ng/ml; mean = 102) and another with Low A4 (<20 ng/ml; mean = 9) in follicular fluid. We hypothesized that the steroid excess in follicular fluid of dominant follicles in High A4 cows would result in reduced fertility through altered follicle development and oocyte maternal RNA abundance. To test this hypothesis, estrous cycles of cows were synchronized and ovariectomy was performed 36 hours later.

Progressive obesity alters the steroidogenic response to ovulatory stimulation and increases the abundance of mRNAs stored in the ovulated oocyte.

Obese women who are able to attain pregnancy are at increased risk for early-pregnancy loss due, in part, to reduced oocyte quality. We and others have demonstrated that female Lethal Yellow (LY) mice and female C57BL/6 mice fed a high fat diet (B6-HFD) exhibit phenotypes consistent with human obesity. These studies also showed that zygotes collected from LY and B6-HFD females have reduced developmental competence.

Loss of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) isoforms in the testes of male mice causes subfertility, reduces sperm numbers, and alters expression of genes that regulate undifferentiated spermatogonia.

Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) isoform treatment has been demonstrated to alter spermatogonial stem cell homeostasis. Therefore, we generated pDmrt1-Cre;Vegfa(-/-) (knockout, KO) mice by crossing pDmrt1-Cre mice to floxed Vegfa mice to test whether loss of all VEGFA isoforms in Sertoli and germ cells would impair spermatogenesis. When first mated, KO males took 14 days longer to get control females pregnant (P < .

Reproductive abnormalities in mice expressing omega-3 fatty acid desaturase in their mammary glands.

The Caenorhabditis elegans n-3 fatty acid desaturase (Fat-1) acts on a range of 18- and 20-carbon n-6 fatty acid substrates. Transgenic female mice expressing the Fat-1 gene under transcriptional control of the goat β-casein promoter produce milk phospholipids having elevated levels of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). However, females from this line were also observed to have impaired reproductive performance characterized by a smaller litter size (2.