Purpose: The ovary is an example of a developing tissue in which developmental prosses occur throughout reproductive life. We investigate the expression of GSK-3β and β-catenin- Wnt pathway molecules- in the rat ovary during follicular development. Materials and Methods: To induce follicular growth and development, 23 days old immature female rats were injected with 10 IU of PMSG. Forty and forty-eight hours after stimulation with PMSG, the sera was collected for hormone assay, and the ovary were dissected and prepared for immunohistochemistry (IHC( and western blot(WB). Results: Our IHC and WB analysis showed that the expression of pGSK-3β and active β-catenin was increased in PMSG primed rats in compared to those of intact groups. However, the total GSK-3β and β-catenin proteins remain unchanged. Conclusion: The results indicate this idea that gonadotropin (PMSG), stabilized β-catenin in GSK-3β independent manner in the rat ovary during the follicular development.

Keywords: Gsk-3β, Β-Catenin, Ovarian Follicular Development, Rat

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