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[Role of MAPK and PKC signaling pathways in the regulation of c-erbB2 in the primordial follicles onset.] [Ariticle in Chinese]

XU Ai-Xia, ZHENG Li-Ping, TANG Dan-Feng, DU Xiao-Yu, WEN Xiao-Ming, ZHENG Yue-Hui^*

Department of Physiology Reproduction, Nanchang University Medical College, Nanchang 330006, China

Abstract

Our previous studies showed that the proto-oncogene c-erbB2 played an important role in primordial follicles growth. The present study was conducted to investigate the role of MAPK and PKC signaling pathways in the primordial follicle onset in neonatal rats, and the relationship between c-erbB2 and MAPK/PKC signaling pathways. Ovaries collected from 2-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were cultured in the Waymouth culture system in vitro. Ovaries were transfected with c-erbB2 siRNA, or treated with PD98059 (50 μmol/L) or Calphostin (0.5 μmol/L) in the culture medium. RT-PCR was performed to measure the expression of c-erbB2 mRNA, and Western blot analysis was performed to measure the expression of ErbB2, MAPK and PKC protein after the neonatal rat ovaries were cultured for 8 d. The quantities of every-stage follicles of ovaries cultured for 8 d were obtained in histological section stained with hematoxylin eosin. The results showed that c-erbB2 siRNA reduced the levels of c-erbB2 mRNA (P<0.01) and the levels of ErbB2, MAPK and PKC protein (P<0.01) significantly. But the levels of c-erbB2 mRNA and ErbB2 protein exhibited no change (P>0.05) in the ovaries cultured with PD98059 or Calphostin. After the ovaries were transfected with c-erbB2 siRNA or cultured with PD98059 or Calphostin for 8 d, the quantities of primary follicles and second follicles were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05 or P< 0.01), but the quantity of the primordial follicles was higher than that in the control group (P<0.01). These results suggest that proto-oncogene c-erbB2 promotes the initiation of primordial follicle growth through the MAPK and PKC signal transduction, and c-erbB2 is possibly the upstream of PKC and MAPK signaling pathway in the regulation of primordial follicle onset.

Key words: ovarian follicles; small interfering RNA; gene, c-erbB2; mitogen-activated protein kinase; protein kinase C;

Received: 2009-04-10　　Accepted: 2009-08-04

Corresponding author: 郑月慧　　E-mail: yuehuizheng@163.com

Citing This Article：

XU Ai-Xia, ZHENG Li-Ping, TANG Dan-Feng, DU Xiao-Yu, WEN Xiao-Ming, ZHENG Yue-Hui. [Role of MAPK and PKC signaling pathways in the regulation of c-erbB2 in the primordial follicles onset.] [Ariticle in Chinese] . Acta Physiol Sin 2009; 61 (5): 439-444 (in Chinese with English abstract).