Intra-cervical application of Misoprostol at estrus alters the content of cervical hyaluronan and the mRNA expression of follicle stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR), luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) and cyclooxygenase-2 in the ewe

The Effect of the Intracervical Application of Follicle‐Stimulating Hormone or Luteinizing Hormone on the Pattern of Expression of Gonadotrophin Receptors in the Cervix of Non‐Pregnant Ewes

“…; Leethongdee et al. ) representing the uterine, middle and vaginal regions of the cervix. The segments were fixed in neutral‐buffered formalin (BDH, VWR International Ltd., Leicestershire, UK) for 24 h, and then stored in 70% ethanol.…”

Progesterone exposure of seasonally anoestrous ewes alters the expression of angiogenic growth factors in preovulatory follicles

“…Immunohistochemistical assays for the proteins of interest were performed on consecutive sections of a follicle using the avidin-biotin peroxidase method as previously described [27][28][29][30], but with secondary antibody concentration of 1:25 biotinylated goat anti-rabbit IgG (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA) in 2% v/v normal goat serum in PBS and color detection being performed using ImmPACT DAB (Vector Laboratories).…”

“…The pattern and intensity of protein and mRNA staining for VEGF, VEGFR-2, ANG-1, ANG-2, and TIE-2 in follicular tissue were determined semi-quantitatively using a histochemical score (HSCORE) method that has been widely reported in a number of studies in our own laboratory [27][28][29][30] and by others [31,32]. Moreover, the HSCORE method of analysis used in this study has been previously validated as a suitable method for semiquantitative estimation of immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization results [33].…”

An in vitro investigation of the actions of reproductive hormones on the cervix of the ewe in the follicular stage: The effects of 17β-estradiol, oxytocin, FSH, and arachidonic acid on the cervical pathway for the synthesis of prostaglandin E2

“…Results are shown as mean AE standard error of the mean. the vaginal and middle cervical regions compared with the uterine one [6,10] suggesting differential molecular regulation of the PGE 2 synthesis. We could speculate that the discrepancies in the findings of these works and of the present study are probably due to either different mechanisms of transcriptional and translational regulation of the synthesis of COX-2 or differences in the accuracy of the techniques used in the two studies (in situ hybridization vs. immunoblotting).…”

“…It has been previously reported that in the bovine [9] and ovine cervix [5,10], during the follicular phase of the estrous cycle, there is an increase in the expression of the FSH receptors suggesting that the gonadotrophic hormone might play a role in the pathway of PGE 2 synthesis and final cervical relaxation. Moreover, in the ewe, high concentrations of estradiol during the periovulatory period [11,12] are associated with increasing the cervical expression of the oxytocin receptor (OTR) [13,14], and oxytocin acting through OTR stimulates cytoplasmic phospholipase A2 (cPLA 2 )-induced release of arachidonic acid (AA) from the phospholipid membranes in ovine and bovine endometrial tissues [15,16].…”