As. Law et al., EXPRESSION OF TRANSFORMING GROWTH-FACTOR-BETA MESSENGER-RNA IN CHICKEN OVARIAN FOLLICULAR TISSUE, General and comparative endocrinology, 98(3), 1995, pp. 227-233
RNA was isolated from chicken thecal tissue from the largest (F1), thi
rd largest (F3), and fifth largest (F5) preovulatory follicles, from s
mall yolky follicles, and from granulosa tissue from F1 follicles. Tra
nsforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) gene expression was measured u
sing reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Thecal cells fro
m all follicle sizes expressed all three isoforms of TGF-beta. TGF-bet
a(1) mRNA was detected in granulosa cells at levels comparable to thos
e seen in thecal cells. However, TGF-beta(2) and TGF-beta(3) mRNA was
expressed at significantly lower levels in granulosa than in thecal ti
ssue. This is the first demonstration of TGF-beta gene expression in t
he ovary of a nonmammalian species. The similarities between mammalian
and avian TGF-beta gene expression are remarkable, especially in ligh
t of the distinctive patterns of avian follicular development and the
differing steroidogenic capacities of ovarian cell types of the two cl
asses of vertebrates. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.