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Expression relationship of Hippo signaling molecules and ovarian germline stem cell markers in the ovarian aging process of women and mice

XU Jiao¹, CAO Xiu-Ping², TANG Zi-Juan³, HUANG Jian⁴, ZHENG Yue-Hui^2,5, LI Jia^4,5,*

¹The First Clinical Medical School, College of Medicine, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China；²School of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China；³Nursing School, College of Medicine, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China；⁴Medical Laboratory Education Center, College of Medicine, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China；⁵The Key Laboratory of Reproductive Physiology and Pathology of Jiangxi Province, College of Medicine, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China

Abstract

The present study was aimed to investigate the expression relationship of Hippo signaling molecules and ovarian germline stem cell (OGSC) markers in the development schedule of OGSCs during ovarian aging in women and mice. The ovaries of 2-month-old mature (normal control) and 12-month-old (physiological ovarian aging) KM mice were sampled, and the ovarian cortex samples of young (postpuberty to 35 years old), middle age (36–50 years old) and menopausal period (51–60 years old) women were obtained with consent. The mice model of pathological ovarian aging was established by intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide/busulfan (CY/BUS). HE staining was used to detect the changes of follicles at different stages, and the localization and expression changes of Hippo signaling molecules and OGSCs related factors (MVH/OCT4) were detected by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression levels of the major molecules in the Hippo signaling pathway and OGSCs related factors. The results showed that there were not any normal follicles, but a few atresia follicles in the ovaries from physiological and pathological ovarian aging mice. Compared with the normal control mice, both the physiological and pathological ovarian aging mice showed decreased protein expression levels of the main Hippo signaling molecules (pYAP1) and MVH/OCT4; Whereas only the pathological ovarian aging mice showed increased ratio of pYAP1/YAP1. In comparison with the young women, the middle age and menopausal women showed looser structure of ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) and less ovarian cortical cells. The protein expression level of LATS2 in the OSE was the highest in young women, MST1 expression was the lowest in the menopausal period women, and the expression levels of YAP1 and pYAP1 were the highest in middle age women. Compared with the young women, the middle age and menopausal period women exhibited significantly decreased ratio of OSE pYAP1/YAP1, whereas there was no significant difference between them. The expression level of MVH protein in OSE from the young women was significantly higher than those of the middle age and menopausal period women. These results indicate that there is an expression relationship between the main molecules of Hippo signaling pathway and OGSCs related factors, which suggests that Hippo signaling pathway may regulate the expression levels of OGSCs related factors, thus participating in the process of physiological and pathological degeneration of ovarian.

Key words: functional ovarian; ovarian aging model; ovarian germline stem cells; Hippo signaling pathway

Received: 2018-06-20　　Accepted: 2018-10-24

Corresponding author: 李佳　　E-mail: lijia4199@163.com

DOI: 10.13294/j.aps.2019.0034

Citing This Article：

XU Jiao, CAO Xiu-Ping, TANG Zi-Juan, HUANG Jian, ZHENG Yue-Hui, LI Jia. Expression relationship of Hippo signaling molecules and ovarian germline stem cell markers in the ovarian aging process of women and mice. Acta Physiol Sin 2019; 71 (3): 405-414 (in Chinese with English abstract).