Susceptibility of avian ovarian granulosa cells to apoptosis is dependent upon stage of follicle development and is related to endogenous levels of bcl-xlong gene expression
Abstract
Studies were conducted to evaluate the susceptibility of avian ovarian granulosa cells to apoptosis when incubated in vitro and to relate this relative susceptibility to both the stage of follicle development from which granulosa cells were collected (atresia-prone vs. -resistant) and to the expression of a gene previously linked to the regulation of cell viability, bcl-xlong. Granulosa cells from slow growing, prehierarchal (4- to 8-mm diameter; atresia-prone) follicles were found to undergo rapid and progressively extensive apoptosis after incubation in defined medium for 6-24 h (P < 0.05 vs. unincubated controls). By contrast, cells from the largest preovulatory (F1) follicle, as well as from follicles most recently recruited into the follicle hierarchy (9- to 12-mm diameter), showed significantly less low molecular wt labeling at 6 h of incubation (P < 0.05 vs. 4- to 8-mm follicles). Furthermore, the amount of low molecular wt labeling did not significantly increase in cells from either stage of follicle development at 12 or 24 h of incubation (P < 0.05 vs. 6 h incubation). This biochemical indication of ongoing apoptosis in prehierarchal follicle granulosa cells was confirmed by an increased incidence of pyknotic nuclei de...Continue Reading
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