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Publication

VCAM1 Is Induced in Ovarian Theca and Stromal Cells in a Mouse Model of Androgen Excess.

Endocrinology | 2019

Ovarian theca androgen production is regulated by the pituitary LH and intrafollicular factors. Enhanced androgen biosynthesis by theca cells contributes to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in women, but the ovarian consequences of elevated androgens are not completely understood. Our study documents the molecular events that are altered in the theca and stromal cells of mice exposed to high androgen levels, using the nonaromatizable androgen DHT. Changes in ovarian morphology and function were observed not only in follicles, but also in the stromal compartment. Genome-wide microarray analyses revealed marked changes in the ovarian transcriptome of DHT-treated females within 1 week. Particularly striking was the increased expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (Vcam1) specifically in the NR2F2/COUPTF-II lineage theca cells, not granulosa cells, of growing follicles and throughout the stroma of the androgen-treated mice. This response was mediated by androgen receptors (ARs) present in theca and stromal cells. Human theca-derived cultures expressed both ARs and NR2F2 that were nuclear. VCAM1 mRNA and protein were higher in PCOS-derived theca cells compared with control theca and reduced markedly by the AR antagonist flutamide. In the DHT-treated mice, VCAM1 was transiently induced by equine chorionic gonadotropin, when androgen and estrogen biosynthesis peak in preovulatory follicles, and was potently suppressed by a superovulatory dose of human chorionic gonadotropin. High levels of VCAM1 in the theca and interstitial cells of DHT-treated mice and in adult Leydig cells indicate that there may be novel functions for VCAM1 in reproductive tissues, including the gonads.

Pubmed ID: 30951142 RIS Download

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Associated grants

Agency: NIH HHS, United States
Id: S10 OD016167
Agency: NICHD NIH HHS, United States
Id: R01 HD097321
Agency: NICHD NIH HHS, United States
Id: U54 HD083092
Agency: NICHD NIH HHS, United States
Id: R01 HD083323
Agency: NCI NIH HHS, United States
Id: P30 CA125123
Agency: NIGMS NIH HHS, United States
Id: R25 GM056929
Agency: NIDDK NIH HHS, United States
Id: P30 DK056338
Agency: NIGMS NIH HHS, United States
Id: T32 GM008307
Agency: NICHD NIH HHS, United States
Id: R01 HD076980
Agency: NIGMS NIH HHS, United States
Id: R25 GM069234
Agency: NICHD NIH HHS, United States
Id: R24 HD102061
Agency: NICHD NIH HHS, United States
Id: R00 HD068130

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