Effect of an activin A on follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) receptor messenger ribonucleic acid levels and FSH receptor expressions in cultured rat granulosa cells

Abstract

Activin, a dimer of beta-subunits of inhibin, has been found to induce FSH receptor on cultured rat granulosa cells. The effect of activin on FSH receptor messenger RNA (mRNA) levels has not been elucidated. To study the effect of activin on FSH receptor mRNA levels, we used a specific complementary RNA probe to evaluate changes in FSH receptor transcripts in cultured rat granulosa cells. Granulosa cells obtained from immature diethylstilbestrol-treated rats contained two predominant FSH receptor mRNA transcripts (5.5 and 2.4 kilobases). Compared to the control, the treatment of granulosa cells with activin (100 ng/ml) increased FSH receptor mRNA in a time-dependent manner with a maximum of about a 4-fold increase at 24 h. FSH receptor mRNA markedly decreased after 48 h and maintained a level comparable to that found in the control. The FSH receptor expression was also increased by activin. Scatchard analysis of the binding of rat FSH to granulosa cells showed that the increase in FSH binding after activin treatment was due to an increase in the receptor number and not the affinity of binding. Treatment of granulosa cells for 24 h with activin (20-300 ng/ml) increased FSH receptor mRNA in a dose-dependent manner to a maximum of about a 4-fold increase at a concentration of 100-300 ng/ml. We analyzed rat type II activin receptor mRNA transcripts in cultured rat granulosa cells with a specific complementary RNA probe to study the action of activin on granulosa cells. Granulosa cells contained two predominant rat type II activin receptor mRNA transcripts (6.0 and 3.0 kilobases). Furthermore, we measured intracellular cAMP production by activin to examine the mechanism by which activin acts on granulosa cells. In result, activin alone did not increase intracellular cAMP accumulation. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the effect of activin A on the induction of FSH receptor expression is associated with a change in FSH receptor mRNA levels, suggesting that modulation of follicle development occurs.