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Mol. Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on April 28, 2006
Molecular Human Reproduction 2006 12(6):357-365; doi:10.1093/molehr/gal033
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Tyrosine kinase B receptor and its activated neurotrophins in ovaries from human fetuses and adults

S. Harel1,2, S. Jin3, B. Fisch1,2, D. Feldberg2, H. Krissi2, C. Felz4, S. Freimann5, S.L. Tan3, A. Ao3,6 and R. Abir1,2,7

1Infertility and IVF Unit, 2Helen Schneider’s Women Hospital, Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Royal Victoria Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 4Department of Pathology, Rabin Medical Center, 5The Felsenstein Medical Research Center, Petach Tikva and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel and 6Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

7 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: IVF Research Laboratory, Infertility and IVF Unit, Helen Schneider’s Women Hospital, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Campus, Petach Tikva 49100, Israel. E-mail: ronita{at}clalit.org.il

The signals initiating the growth of primordial follicles are unknown. Growth factors such as neurotrophin 4/5 (NT-4/5) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may play a role in this process. To investigate the expression of NT-4/5 and BDNF and their receptor tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) in the early developing follicles, we fixed and froze 12 ovarian samples from adolescents/adults and 31 ovaries from human fetuses. The fixed samples were prepared for immunohistochemical staining for NT-4/5, BDNF and the TrkB receptor. Total RNA was extracted from the frozen ovarian samples, and the expression of NT-4/5, BDNF and the TrkB receptor (full length and two truncated isoforms) was investigated by RT–PCR. Products were resolved by 1% agarose gel electrophoresis and image analysis. Immunohistochemical staining revealed the expression of NT-4/5 and BDNF mainly in oocytes and, in a minority of samples, also in the granulosa cells (GCs); TrkB receptor was identified in oocytes and GCs. Transcripts of NT-4/5, BDNF and all forms of TrkB receptor were identified in the samples. To elucidate whether indeed NT-4/5 and BDNF are involved in growth initiation of human primordial follicles, they should be added to the culture medium.

Key words: immunohistochemistry/neurotrophins/primordial follicles/RT–PCR/TrkB receptor


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