Stage-specific expression of c-myc messenger ribonucleic acid in porcine granulosa cells early in follicular growth

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kobe University School of Medicine, Japan.

In the present study, the expression of c-myc mRNA in porcine granulosa cells harvested from varying follicle stages was analyzed using northern blot hybridization with a c-myc probe, and compared during follicular growth. Northern blot analysis revealed that porcine granulosa cell RNA obtained from small (1-2 mm) follicles contained an abundance of c-myc transcript of 2.4 kb, the size of which was identical to the c-myc transcript obtained with human early placental RNA used as the control. In contrast to small-follicle granulosa cell RNA, total RNA preparations from either medium (3-5 mm)-follicle granulosa cells or large (6-11 mm)-follicle granulosa cells exhibited no detectable transcripts with the c-myc probe. These results suggest that expression of c-myc mRNA in porcine granulosa cells is limited only at the early stage of follicular growth. The stage-specific expression of c-myc mRNA in granulosa cells early in follicular growth may play a physiological role in the autonomous growth of immature granulosa cells in early folliculogenesis, seemingly independent of pituitary gonadotropic stimulation.