This Article IMMEDIATE FREE ACCESS ARTICLE OA Free Full Text Full Text (PDF) OA All Versions of this Article: 136/2/187    most recent REP-07-0172v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Qureshi, A I Articles by Mason, H D Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Qureshi, A I Articles by Mason, H D

Testosterone selectively increases primary follicles in ovarian cortex grafted onto embryonic chick membranes: relevance to polycystic ovaries

Divisions of¹ Basic Medical Sciences² Cellular and Molecular Medicine³ Community Health Sciences⁴ Clinical Developmental Sciences, St George's, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, UK

Correspondence should be addressed to H Mason; Email: h.mason{at}sgul.ac.uk

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Society for Reproduction and Fertility's Re-use Licence which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Histological studies have demonstrated that polycystic ovaries (PCO) contain increased numbers of preantral follicles with a specific increase in primary follicles. Polycystic ovary syndrome is associated with hyperandrogenism and pre- and postnatal androgenisation of primates increases the pool of growing follicles producing changes resembling PCO. In vitro studies could test the hypothesis that androgens alter early folliculogenesis, but conventional culture techniques for small follicles are generally unsuitable in non-rodent species. Our objective was to develop and use a method to investigate the effects of testosterone on early folliculogenesis. We adapted an in ovo technique in which lamb cortical ovarian fragments were grafted onto the chorioallantoic membrane of fertilised chick eggs. Optimal experimental conditions for vascularisation and survival of tissue were determined and the model then used to investigate the effects of testosterone on follicle growth. Eggs were inoculated with testosterone at the time of implantation of the ovarian tissue, which was retrieved 5 days later. Tissue was sectioned and follicles staged and counted. There was no wholesale initiation of primordial follicle growth over the 5-day in ovo culture. Importantly, the proportion of primordial, primary and secondary follicles remained similar to those in unimplanted tissue. Testosterone increased the number of primary follicles by 50% compared with controls, an effect that was largely due to a reduction in atresia. In conclusion, incubation of ovarian cortex with testosterone reproduces the changes in early folliculogenesis reported in histological studies of PCO.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J.-L. Yang, C.-P. Zhang, L. Li, L. Huang, S.-Y. Ji, C.-L. Lu, C.-H. Fan, H. Cai, Y. Ren, Z.-Y. Hu, et al. Testosterone Induces Redistribution of Forkhead Box-3a and Down-Regulation of Growth and Differentiation Factor 9 Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Expression at Early Stage of Mouse Folliculogenesis Endocrinology, February 1, 2010; 151(2): 774 - 782. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H M Picton, S E Harris, W Muruvi, and E L Chambers The in vitro growth and maturation of follicles Reproduction, December 1, 2008; 136(6): 703 - 715. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]