雌激素对哺乳动物卵泡发育的影响研究进展

雌激素在卵泡发育过程中所起的作用,已经得到人们的普遍认可。雌二醇(E2)及其类似物在卵泡的体细胞的增殖和分化中起重要作用,但其作用机理目前还不完全清楚。一些最新研究结果雌激素受体β(ERβ)的发现、雌激素受体基因敲除以及雌激素缺失动物模型的建立等,使我们能够进一步探讨雌激素在卵泡发育过程中的作用机理。结合这些最新研究动态,探讨雌激素在卵泡发育过程中的作用及雌激素对卵巢內的体细胞表型分化的影响。

The Production of Estrogens in Mammalian Follicle and Its Effect on Follicular Development

Estrogens have been known for many years to have a direct influence on folliculogenesis. Estradiol-17β(E2) and its analogues have both proliferative and differentiative effects on somatic cells of follicles. Nevertheless, definitive proof of an obligatory role for estrogen in folliculogenesis and elucidation of the mechanisms subserving its different actions in follicular cells remains elusive. Several recent developments permit a re-examination of the roles and actions of E2 in the follicle. They are the discovery of a second form of the estrogen receptor, ERβ; the advent of genetically modified mice with deletions in the ERα(αERKO) ERβ(BERKO) and the double ER deletions (αβERKO); and a mouse model of estrogen deficiency (ArKO) by targeted disruption of the cyp 19 gene encoding the aromatase enzyme. Recent information derived from these models is reviewed to re-assess the roles and actions of estrogens in follicular dynamics and the phenotypic differentiation of ovarian somatic cells in the ovary.