Skip Navigation


Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on May 2, 2006
Human Reproduction 2006 21(8):1974-1980; doi:10.1093/humrep/del109
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
21/8/1974    most recent
del109v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (3)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hurst, P. R.
Right arrow Articles by Fenwick, M. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hurst, P. R.
Right arrow Articles by Fenwick, M. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Caspase-3, TUNEL and ultrastructural studies of small follicles in adult human ovarian biopsies

Peter R. Hurst1, Jocelyn M. Mora and Mark A. Fenwick

Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

1 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand. E-mail: peter.hurst{at}stonebow.otago.ac.nz

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate evidence for cell death by apoptosis in small unilaminar ovarian follicles of adult humans. METHODS: Cortical biopsies from 13 healthy donors were either frozen and protein extracted for western blots or fixed for immunohistochemistry (IH) to localize procaspase-3 and active-caspase-3, to detect DNA fragmentation in situ and undertake routine transmission electron microscopy (TEM). RESULTS: Blots identified the presence of the inactive pro-form of caspase-3, and IH localized this in all follicles studied. In contrast, the active form of caspase-3, a major effector of apoptosis, was only detected in large antral follicles that also had microscopic signs of atresia. Active caspase-3 was not detected in primordial (n = 87), primary (n = 8) or secondary follicles. The atretic follicles were also the only ovarian structures with positive evidence of DNA fragmentation after terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labelling (TUNEL) treatment. Confocal microscopy showed dual labelling for both active caspase-3 and TUNEL in individual granulosa cells in large atretic follicles, but no such labelling was evident in any other follicles. No apoptotic bodies were seen by TEM in sections of 39 small follicles from seven patients. CONCLUSION: This study found evidence for TUNEL and active caspase-3 only in human ovarian antral follicles.

Key words: apoptosis/caspase-3/follicles/human/ovary


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Hum Mol GenetHome page
P. Reddy, D. Adhikari, W. Zheng, S. Liang, T. Hamalainen, V. Tohonen, W. Ogawa, T. Noda, S. Volarevic, I. Huhtaniemi, et al.
PDK1 signaling in oocytes controls reproductive aging and lifespan by manipulating the survival of primordial follicles
Hum. Mol. Genet., August 1, 2009; 18(15): 2813 - 2824.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Biol. Reprod.Home page
C. M. Tingen, S. K. Bristol-Gould, S. E. Kiesewetter, J. T. Wellington, L. Shea, and T. K. Woodruff
Prepubertal Primordial Follicle Loss in Mice Is Not Due to Classical Apoptotic Pathways
Biol Reprod, July 1, 2009; 81(1): 16 - 25.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Molecular Cancer TherapeuticsHome page
R. Deng, J. Tang, L.-P. Xia, D.-D. Li, W.-J. Zhou, L.-L. Wang, G.-K. Feng, Y.-X. Zeng, Y.-H. Gao, and X.-F. Zhu
ExcisaninA, a diterpenoid compound purified from Isodon MacrocalyxinD, induces tumor cells apoptosis and suppresses tumor growth through inhibition of PKB/AKT kinase activity and blockade of its signal pathway
Mol. Cancer Ther., April 1, 2009; 8(4): 873 - 882.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
M. S. Albamonte, M. A. Willis, M. I. Albamonte, F. Jensen, M. B. Espinosa, and A. D. Vitullo
The developing human ovary: immunohistochemical analysis of germ-cell-specific VASA protein, BCL-2/BAX expression balance and apoptosis
Hum. Reprod., August 1, 2008; 23(8): 1895 - 1901.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.