Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Richards, JoAnne S.
• Ascoli, Mario

Titel

Endocrine, Paracrine, and Autocrine Signaling Pathways That Regulate Ovulation

Ist Teil von

• Trends in endocrinology and metabolism, 2018-05, Vol.29 (5), p.313-325

Ort / Verlag

United States: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2018

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The central role of luteinizing hormone (LH) and its receptor (LHCGR) in triggering ovulation has been recognized for decades. Because the LHCGR is present in the mural (outermost) granulosa cell layer of preovulatory follicles (POFs), the LH-initiated signal has to be transmitted to another somatic cell type (cumulus granulosa cells) and the oocyte to release a fertilizable oocyte. Recent studies have shown that activation of the LHCGR initiates vectorial transfer of information among the two somatic cell types and the oocyte and the molecules and signaling pathways involved are now better understood. This review summarizes the newer developments on the complex signaling pathways that regulate ovulation. Ovulation is triggered when the ovulatory surge of LH activates the LHCGR in the mural granulosa cells of the ovarian follicle. This initial signal is propagated to the cumulus cells and the oocyte through paracrine and autocrine signaling pathways that result in the release of a fertilizable oocyte. The ovarian EGFR network and the ERK1/2 cascade, two pathways that are traditionally associated with cell proliferation, are activated by the LHCGR and are involved in (EGFR network) or essential to (ERK1/2) the ovulatory response. The signaling pathways that participate in ovulation provide an example of how the activation of a single receptor (LHCGR) in a single cell type results in the vectorial transfer of information among other cell types that do not express the receptor.