Prenatal programming by testosterone of follicular theca cell functions in ovary.

Prenatal programming by testosterone of follicular theca cell functions in ovary. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2019 Jul 20;: Authors: Monniaux D, Genêt C, Maillard V, Jarrier P, Adriaensen H, Hennequet-Antier C, Lainé AL, Laclie C, Papillier P, Plisson-Petit F, Estienne A, Cognié J, di Clemente N, Dalbies-Tran R, Fabre S Abstract In mammalian ovaries, the theca layers of growing follicles are critical for maintaining their structural integrity and supporting androgen synthesis. Through combining the postnatal monitoring of ovaries by abdominal magnetic resonance imaging, endocrine profiling, hormonal analysis of the follicular fluid of growing follicles, and transcriptomic analysis of follicular theca cells, we provide evidence that the exposure of ovine fetuses to testosterone excess activates postnatal follicular growth and strongly affects the functions of follicular theca in adulthood. Prenatal exposure to testosterone impaired androgen synthesis in the small antral follicles of adults and affected the expression in their theca cells of a wide array of genes encoding extracellular matrix components, their membrane receptors, and signaling pathways. Most expression changes were uncorrelated with the concentrations of gonadotropins, steroids, and anti-Müllerian hormone in the recent hormonal environment of theca cells, suggesting that these changes rather result from the long-term developmental effects of testosterone on theca cell precu...
Source: Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences : CMLS - Category: Cytology Authors: Tags: Cell Mol Life Sci Source Type: research