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Effect of Prenatal and Neonatal Anti‐Androgen Flutamide Treatment on Aquaporin 5 Expression in the Adult Porcine Ovary
Author(s) -
Grzesiak M,
KnapczykStwora K,
Luck MR,
Mobasheri A,
Slomczynska M
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
reproduction in domestic animals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.546
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1439-0531
pISSN - 0936-6768
DOI - 10.1111/rda.12652
Subject(s) - flutamide , endocrinology , antral follicle , medicine , follicular phase , androgen , ovary , biology , aquaporin 2 , gestation , andrology , pregnancy , hormone , androgen receptor , water channel , prostate cancer , mechanical engineering , genetics , engineering , cancer , inlet
Contents The growth of ovarian follicles is accompanied by fluid‐filled antrum formation. Water movement within the follicular wall is predominantly transcellular via membranous water channels named aquaporins ( AQP s). Androgens are important regulators of mammalian folliculogenesis, and their prenatal and/or neonatal deficiency affects female fertility in adulthood. Therefore, this study was performed to determine whether gestational or neonatal exposure to the anti‐androgen flutamide influences androgen‐dependent AQP 5 expression in pre‐antral and large antral follicles of adult pigs. Flutamide was injected into pregnant gilts between days 80 and 88 of gestation and into female piglets between days 2 and 10 post‐natally. The ovaries were collected from flutamide‐treated and non‐treated (control) sexually mature pigs. In pre‐antral follicles, AQP 5 mRNA and protein levels were both downregulated following maternal (p < 0.01 and p < 0.01, respectively) and neonatal (p < 0.01 and p < 0.01, respectively) flutamide exposure. Likewise, the expression of mRNA (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively) and protein (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively) for AQP 5 were diminished in large antral follicles in both groups. Immunohistochemistry showed decreased intensity of AQP 5 immunoreaction in pre‐antral (p < 0.01) and large antral (p < 0.001) follicles following flutamide treatment. Moreover, radioimmunological analysis revealed that changes observed in AQP 5 expression corresponded with diminished follicular androgens production after both maternal (p < 0.05 and p < 0.05, respectively) and neonatal (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively) flutamide administration. Therefore, AQP 5 appears to be a potential regulator of follicular fluid accumulation, under androgen control, and may be a key factor in antral follicle growth.