Mechanisms of action of the principal prolific genes and their application to sheep production

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 395 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. H. Souza ◽  
A. González-Bulnes ◽  
B. K. Campbell ◽  
A. S. McNeilly ◽  
D. T. Baird
Keyword(s):  
Transforming Growth Factor ◽  
Ovarian Follicle ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor Β ◽  
Ovulation Rate ◽  
Follicle Growth ◽  
Sheep Industry ◽  
Morphogenetic Protein ◽  
Sheep Production ◽  
Ovulatory Follicles ◽  
On Farm

The prolificacy variation in sheep makes it an excellent animal model to understand the mechanisms regulating ovulation rate. Identification of mutations responsible for the increased prolificacy of the Inverdale, Booroola, Javanese, Cambridge and Belclare sheep open new avenues of investigation for the paracrine control of folliculogenesis. To date, all known mutations are in genes from ligands or receptors of the transforming growth factor β superfamily, and point to the bone morphogenetic protein family of peptides as local regulators of ovarian follicle growth. The mechanism of action of the mutated genes is not fully understood, but results in the ovulation of a higher number of follicles with smaller diameter and fewer granulosa cells than that of the wildtype, thus speeding the differentiation of ovulatory follicles. Comparisons of the performance of Booroola-crossed flocks in different countries showed that carriers of the prolificacy mutation have higher ewe productivity but also higher perinatal mortality and lighter weight lambs. Their economic impact on the sheep industry depends on farm environment and management. Nevertheless, the diagnostic tests now available to identify the genetic mutations resulting in increased ovulation rate, will simplify the introduction of these mutations and their monitoring in flocks for research and commercial purposes.

The bone morphogenetic protein system and the regulation of ovarian follicle development in mammals

Zygote ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo O.D.S. Rossi ◽  
José J.N. Costa ◽  
Anderson W.B. Silva ◽  
Márcia V.A. Saraiva ◽  
Robert Van den Hurk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Factor ◽  
Bone Morphogenetic Protein ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor ◽  
Ovarian Follicle ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor Β ◽  
Type I ◽  
Serine Threonine Kinase ◽  
Ovarian Follicle Development ◽  
Functional Studies ◽  
Morphogenetic Protein

SummaryThe bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) family consists of several growth factor proteins that belong to the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily. BMPs bind to type I and type II serine–threonine kinase receptors, and transduce signals through the Smad signalling pathway. BMPs have been identified in mammalian ovaries, and functional studies have shown that they are involved in the regulation of oogenesis and folliculogenesis. This review summarizes the role of the BMP system during formation, growth and maturation of ovarian follicles in mammals.

scholarly journals GDF11 promotes osteogenesis as opposed to MSTN, and follistatin, a MSTN/GDF11 inhibitor, increases muscle mass but weakens bone

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (9) ◽  
pp. 4910-4920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joonho Suh ◽  
Na-Kyung Kim ◽  
Seung-Hoon Lee ◽  
Je-Hyun Eom ◽  
Youngkyun Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bone Mass ◽  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor ◽  
Bone Fractures ◽  
Muscle Growth ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor Β ◽  
Biochemical Properties ◽  
Bmp Signaling ◽  
Morphogenetic Protein ◽  
Perinatal Lethality

Growth and differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) and myostatin (MSTN) are closely related transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) family members, but their biological functions are quite distinct. While MSTN has been widely shown to inhibit muscle growth, GDF11 regulates skeletal patterning and organ development during embryogenesis. Postnatal functions of GDF11, however, remain less clear and controversial. Due to the perinatal lethality ofGdf11null mice, previous studies used recombinant GDF11 protein to prove its postnatal function. However, recombinant GDF11 and MSTN proteins share nearly identical biochemical properties, and most GDF11-binding molecules have also been shown to bind MSTN, generating the possibility that the effects mediated by recombinant GDF11 protein actually reproduce the endogenous functions of MSTN. To clarify the endogenous functions of GDF11, here, we focus on genetic studies and show thatGdf11null mice, despite significantly down-regulatingMstnexpression, exhibit reduced bone mass through impaired osteoblast (OB) and chondrocyte (CH) maturations and increased osteoclastogenesis, while the opposite is observed inMstnnull mice that display enhanced bone mass. Mechanistically,Mstndeletion up-regulatesGdf11expression, which activates bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway to enhance osteogenesis. Also, mice overexpressing follistatin (FST), a MSTN/GDF11 inhibitor, exhibit increased muscle mass accompanied by bone fractures, unlikeMstnnull mice that display increased muscle mass without fractures, indicating that inhibition of GDF11 impairs bone strength. Together, our findings suggest that GDF11 promotes osteogenesis in contrast to MSTN, and these opposing roles of GDF11 and MSTN must be considered to avoid the detrimental effect of GDF11 inhibition when developing MSTN/GDF11 inhibitors for therapeutic purposes.

scholarly journals Active immunization against the proregions of GDF9 or BMP15 alters ovulation rate and litter size in mice

Reproduction ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 143 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Joy McIntosh ◽  
Steve Lawrence ◽  
Peter Smith ◽  
Jennifer L Juengel ◽  
Kenneth P McNatty
Keyword(s):  
Litter Size ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor Β ◽  
Cross Reactivity ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Ovulation Rate ◽  
Corpora Lutea ◽  
Immunization Group

The transforming growth factor β (TGFB) superfamily proteins bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) and growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9), are essential for mammalian fertility. Recent in vitro evidence suggests that the proregions of mouse BMP15 and GDF9 interact with their mature proteins after secretion. In this study, we have actively immunized mice against these proregions to test the potential in vivo roles on fertility. Mice were immunized with either N- or C-terminus proregion peptides of BMP15 or GDF9, or a full-length GDF9 proregion protein, each conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). For each immunization group, ovaries were collected from ten mice for histology after immunization, while a further 20 mice were allowed to breed and litter sizes were counted. To link the ovulation and fertility data of these two experimental end points, mice were joined during the time period identified by histology as being the ovulatory period resulting in to the corpora lutea (CL) counted. Antibody titers in sera increased throughout the study period, with no cross-reactivity observed between BMP15 and GDF9 sera and antigens. Compared with KLH controls, mice immunized with the N-terminus BMP15 proregion peptide had ovaries with fewer CL (P<0.05) and produced smaller litters (P<0.05). In contrast, mice immunized with the full-length GDF9 proregion not only had more CL (P<0.01) but also had significantly smaller litter sizes (P<0.01). None of the treatments affected the number of antral follicles per ovary. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the proregions of BMP15 and GDF9, after secretion by the oocyte, have physiologically important roles in regulating ovulation rate and litter size in mice.

scholarly journals Proteomic analysis of follicular fluid in carriers and non-carriers of the Trio allele for high ovulation rate in cattle

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 1643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamat H. Kamalludin ◽  
Alvaro Garcia-Guerra ◽  
Milo C. Wiltbank ◽  
Brian W. Kirkpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Follicular Fluid ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor ◽  
Fluid Collection ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor Β ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
Ovulation Rate ◽  
Differentially Expressed ◽  
Masking Effect ◽  
Joint Analysis ◽  
Abundance Proteins

This study was conducted to characterise differences in follicular fluid proteins between carriers and non-carriers of a bovine allele for high ovulation rate. A total of four non-carrier and five carrier females were used in an initial study with four and six additional non-carriers and carriers respectively used in a validation study. Emergence of the follicular wave was synchronised and the ovaries containing the dominant follicle(s) were extracted by ovariectomy for follicular fluid collection. A hexapeptide ligand library was used to overcome the masking effect of high-abundance proteins and to increase detection of low-abundance proteins in tandem mass spectrometry. After correcting for multiple comparisons, only two proteins, glia-derived nexin precursor (SERPINE2) and inhibin β B chain precursor (INHBB), were significantly differentially expressed (false-discovery rate <0.05). In a replicate study of analogous design differential expression was confirmed (P < 0.05). Joint analysis of results from the two studies indicated that three additional proteins were consistently differentially expressed between genotypes. For three of these five, previous studies have indicated that expression is increased by transforming growth factor-β–bone morphogenetic protein signalling; their reduction in follicular fluid from carrier animals is consistent with the ~9-fold overexpression of SMAD family member 6 (SMAD6) in carriers that is inhibitory to this pathway.

Abstract 19602: Characterization of Tgfβ/BMP-axis in Multiple Animal Models of PH

Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Happé ◽  
Nina Rol ◽  
Denielli Da Silva Goncalves Bos ◽  
Cathelijne van der Bruggen ◽  
Anton Vonk-Noordegraaf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pulmonary Hypertension ◽  
Animal Models ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor Β ◽  
Downstream Signaling ◽  
Protein Levels ◽  
Morphogenetic Protein ◽  
Cardiac Adaptation ◽  
Bmp Pathway ◽  
Β Receptor

Introduction: Mutations in the bone morphogenetic protein recptor type 2 (BMPR2) comprise a large portion of familial Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) cases. The transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/BMP-axis in PAH has been of interest, which is hypothesized to favor TGF-β signaling due to defective BMPR2 signaling, consequently leading to pro-proliferative signaling within the lung. In addition, it has been proposed that the BMPRII mutations might affect cardiac adaptation. To date none of the available animal models have been fully characterized with regard to the TGF-β/BMP pathway. This study assessed the lung and heart TGF-β/BMP-axis in multiple rat animal models of pulmonary hypertension to ensure translational capability. Methods: Heart and lung TGF-β/BMP-axis was assessed by qPCR, western blot and immunofluorescence in the the monocrotaline (MCT), Sugen-hypoxia (SuHx), Sugen-Pneumonectomy (SuPnx) and Pulmonary artery banding model (PAB) and compared to control and PAH patient tissues. Circulating ligands, TGF-β receptor (TGFβR) type 1 and 2 and BMPR2, and canonical downstream signaling (Smad2/3, Smad1/5/8, and transcription factors) were investigated. Results: BMPR2 was down-regulated at both transcription and protein levels in the lung of all PH animal models (p<0.05). Transcription of pulmonary TGFβR1 and -2 were increased in the SuPNx-model, compared to control (P<0.001). In both SuHx and SuPnx models an increase in protein Smad2/3 expression was observed by immunofluorescence implying overactivation of TGF-β signaling. Cardiac TGFβR1 was decreased in PAB model, compared to control (P<0.05), while TGFβR2 was decreased in both the MCT and PAB model. Conclusion: Early indications reveal differences between several pulmonary hypertension animal models, with regard to the TGF-β/BMP pathway. Additional analysis is needed to fully characterize the regulation of TGF-β and BMP in the rat models.

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