| First Author | Pal D | Year | 1991 |
| Journal | Biol Reprod | Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 6 | Pages | 869-75 |
| PubMed ID | 1805989 | Mgi Jnum | J:4651 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:60044 | Doi | 10.1095/biolreprod45.6.869 |
| Citation | Pal D, et al. (1991) Levels of alpha-inhibin in aging female mice. Biol Reprod 45(6):869-75 |
| abstractText | alpha-inhibin was immunocytochemically localized in granulosa cells of different stages of developing follicles, freshly formed corpora lutea, and scattered interstitial cells (pigmented or ceroid cells) in ovaries of 6-, 14-, and 23-25-mo-old C57BL/6NNia mice. Developing follicles exhibited the greatest amount of staining. Quantitation of the stain using an image analysis system indicated the staining intensity within ovarian follicles of 14-mo-old mice was greater than that in 23-25-mo-old mice. The levels of plasma alpha-inhibin and estradiol (E2) decreased with age. The number of follicles present in ovaries of middle-aged mice was comparable to those of 6-mo-old mice, yet plasma levels of FSH were significantly higher than those of 6-mo-old mice. This may be due to an age-related loss in the sensitivity of the hypothalamus and/or pituitary of middle-aged mice to ovarian hormones. In contrast, ovaries of 23-25-mo-old mice contained few antral follicles and consequently produced little alpha-inhibin. There appeared to be little negative feedback regulation of FSH secretion in 23-25-mo-old mice as a result of age-related ovarian impairments. This study supports an earlier hypothesis from our laboratory [Biol Reprod 1985; 32:989-997] that the primary defect(s) limiting age-related reproductive performance in mice appears to reside within the hypothalamo-hypophyseal axis, whereas secondary defects arise from the ovary. |
