Ovarian primordial follicle reserve is considered hormonally independent or subject to depletion by FSHdriven follicle recruitment. To explore specific in vivo effects of FSH on early follicle populations in the absence of luteinizing hormone (LH) activity, we examined mature hypogonadal (hpg), gonadotrophin-deficient mice expressing transgenic (tg) human FSH. Sustained expression of tg-FSH (5·3 0·3 IU/l) increased ovary weights fourfold and significantly elevated total primordial follicle numbers twofold in tg-FSH hpg (4209 457) relative to non-tg hpg (2079 391) and wild-type (2043 195) age-matched ovaries. Absolute primary follicle numbers in tg-FSH hpg ovaries were similar to non-tg hpg and wild-type ovaries. Furthermore, tg-FSH quantitatively increased secondary and antral follicles in hpg ovaries to numbers equivalent to wild-type, but did not induce ovulation, indicating a selective FSH response without LH. Circulating inhibin B and inhibin A levels were significantly increased in tg-FSH hpg females compared with hpg controls, and inhibin B correlated with antral number, consistent with FSH-driven antral follicle formation. These findings revealed that sustained pituitaryindependent FSH activity, in the absence of endogenous gonadotrophins, promotes an increase in primordial follicle reserve despite also stimulating follicular growth in mature females. Therefore, the tg-FSH hpg ovary presents a novel paradigm to evaluate specific gonadotrophin effects on follicle reserve and recruitment.

Background: Focal cerebral ischemia is a common cerebrovascular disease with limited treatment options, and new treatments are therefore urgently needed. Hair follicle mesenchymal stem cells (HF-MSCs) are considered ideal cells for the treatment of neurological disorders. Insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is an effective neuroprotective compound. Methods: In the present study, we used middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model to evaluate the therapeutic effects of HF-MSCs and IGF-1 in focal cerebral ischemia. After middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), rats were randomly divided into six groups. HF-MSCs and IGF-1 were transplanted into rat models by tail vein injection. The fate of transplanted HF-MSCs in the rat brain was assessed using immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, Western blot analysis, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Beam balance tests and neurological severity scores were used to assess neurological recovery. Results: HF-MSCs labeled with the green fluorescent dye PKH67 were found to colocalize with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) and neural-specific markers. Rats in the HF-MSCs, IGF-1 and HF-MSCs + IGF-1 groups exhibited neural differentiation marker expression, with those in the HF-MSCs + IGF-1 group exhibiting the highest levels. Conclusions: These results suggest that the combined treatment of HF-MSCs and IGF-1 can enhance neurological recovery, representing a new therapeutic strategy for cerebral ischemia.

Background Follicle selection in chicken refers to the process of selecting one from a group of small yellow follicles (SY, 6-8mm in diameter) to enter the 12-15 mm hierarchical follicles (usually F6 follicles), which is a an important process affecting laying performance in the poultry industry. Although transcripromic analysis on chicken ovarian follicles was reported, integrated analysis on chicken follicles around selection by using both transcripromic and proteomic approaches was still lacking. In this study, we compared the proteomes and transcriptomes of SY and F6 follicles of laying hens and found some genes involved in chicken follicle selection.Results Transcriptomic analysis revealed 855 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between SY follicles and F6 follicles of laying hens, among which 202 were upregulated and 653 were downregulated. Proteomic analysis revealed 259 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), including 175 upregulated and 84 downregulated proteins. Among the identified DEGs and DEPs, the expression changes of seven genes including VLDLR1,WIF1, NGFR, AMH, BMP15, GDF6 and MMP13 , and nine proteins including VLDLR, VTG1, VTG3, PSCA, APOB, APOV1, F10, ZP2 and ZP3L2 were validated. In addition VLDLR expression was significantly down-regulated in F6 follicles compared with SY follicles, was signifcantly higher in the GCs than in the TCs and was stimulated by FSH in GCs of both hierarchical and prehierarchical follicles.Conclusions By comparing the proteomes and transcriptomes of SY follicles and F6 of laying hens, we identified some differentially expressed proteins/genes that might play certain roles in chicken follicle selection. These data may contribute to identification of the functional genes and proteins involved in chicken follicular development and selection.