Regulation Mechanism of Selective Atresia in Porcine Follicles: Regulation of Granulosa Cell Apoptosis during Atresia

作者：Noboru MANABE, Yasufumi Goto, Fuko MATSUDA‐MINEHATA, Naoko Inoue, Akihisa Maeda, Kazuhiro Sakamaki, Takashi Miyano · 发表于：Journal of Reproduction and Development · 年份：2004 · DOI：10.1262/jrd.50.493 · 被引用次数：247 · 研究领域：Birth, Development, and Health

More than 99% of follicles undergo a degenerative process known as "atresia", in mammalian ovaries, and only a few follicles ovulate during ovarian follicular development. We have investigated the molecular mechanism of selective follicular atresia in mammalian ovaries, and have reported that follicular selection dominantly depends on granulosa cell apoptosis. However, we have little knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that control apoptotic cell death in granulosa cells during follicle selection. To date, at least five cell death ligand-receptor systems [tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha and receptors, Fas (also called APO-1/CD95) ligand and receptors, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL; also called APO-2) and receptors, APO-3 ligand and receptors, and PFG-5 ligand and receptors] have been reported in granulosa cells of porcine ovaries. Some cell death ligand-receptor systems have "decoy" receptors, which act as inhibitors of cell death ligand-induced apoptosis in granulosa cells. Moreover, we showed that the porcine granulosa cell is a type II apoptotic cell, which has the mitochondrion-dependent apoptosis-signaling pathway. Briefly, the cell death receptor-mediated apoptosis signaling pathway in granulosa cells has been suggested to be as follows. (1) A cell death ligand binds to the extracellular domain of a cell death receptor, which contains an intracellular death domain (DD). (2) The intracellular DD of the cell death receptor interacts with the DD of the ad...