Phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) and Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) follicular signalling is conserved in the mare ovary.

Reprod Fertil Dev

Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Science, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.

Published: March 2018

AI Article Synopsis

  • The study investigates the signaling pathways involved in follicular activation in mare ovaries, focusing on PI3K/AKT and JAK/STAT pathways.
  • Messenger RNA levels of six key genes related to follicle development were measured, revealing increased expression in adult ovaries compared to fetal ones.
  • The findings suggest that these pathways play a role in mare folliculogenesis, indicating their potential use as biomarkers for ovarian development in horses.

Article Abstract

The mare ovary is unique in its anatomical structure; however, the signalling pathways responsible for physiological processes, such as follicular activation, remain uncharacterised. This provided us with the impetus to explore whether signalling molecules from important folliculogenesis pathways, phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) and Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT), are conserved in the mare ovary. Messenger RNA expression of six genes important in follicle development was measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and protein localisation of key pathway members (PI3K, AKT1, phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN), JAK1, STAT3 and suppressor of cytokine signalling 4 (SOCS4)) was compared in tissue from fetal and adult mare ovaries. Tissue from adult ovaries exhibited significantly increased levels of mRNA expression of PI3K, AKT1, PTEN, JAK1, STAT3 and SOCS4 compared with tissue from fetal ovaries. PI3K, AKT1, JAK1 and STAT3 demonstrated redistributed localisation, from pregranulosa cells in fetal development, to both the oocyte and granulosa cells of follicles in the adult ovary, whilst negative feedback molecules PTEN and SOCS4 were only localised to the granulosa cells in the adult ovary. These findings suggest that the PI3K/AKT and JAK/STAT signalling pathways are utilised during folliculogenesis in the mare, similarly to previously studied mammalian species, and may serve as useful biomarkers for assessment of ovary development in the horse.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/RD17024DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

mare ovary
12
pi3k akt1
12
jak1 stat3
12
phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein
8
3-kinase/protein kinase
8
kinase pi3k/akt
8
pi3k/akt janus
8
janus kinase/signal
8
kinase/signal transducer
8
transducer activator
8

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!