Vitamin D3 Regulates Follicular Development and Intrafollicular Vitamin D Biosynthesis and Signaling in the Primate Ovary.

ABSTRACT: There is an increasing recognition that vitamin D plays important roles in female reproduction. Recent studies demonstrated that 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD3), the biologically active form of vitamin D, improved ovarian follicle survival and growth in vitro. Therefore, we investigated the direct effects of VD3 at the specific preantral and antral stages of follicular development, and tested the hypothesis that vitamin D receptor (VDR) and enzymes critical for vitamin D biosynthesis are expressed in the primate ovary. Fourteen adult rhesus macaques provided ovarian tissue. Secondary and antral follicles were isolated for PCR analysis on VDR, vitamin D3 25-hydroxylase, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3-1α-hydroxylase. VDR protein localization was determined by immunohistochemistry on ovarian

SUBMITTER: Xu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6246691 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature