Immunohistochemical detection of gremlin-2 protein in hen ovarian prehierarchical follicle cells

Abstract

The objective of this work was to investigate the distribution of the gremlin-2 (GREM2) protein in various cells of chicken ovarian prehierarchical follicles (6-8 mm in diameter). Chickens (n=10) were slaughtered at the age of 21 weeks and ovarian prehierarchical follicles were removed from the hen ovary. An immunohistochemical analysis was performed to examine the localization of GREM2 protein and the results showed that GREM2 protein is distributed in the chicken prehierarchical ovarian follicle cells and the expression varied with the cell types. GREM2 protein was more dominant in granulosa cells (GCs) and oocytes (OC) (P Lass Than 0.05) than other cells in the chicken prehierarchical ovarian follicles. The immunohistochemical study suggests that GREM2 protein might play an important role in GCs proliferation and OC maturation of chicken prehierarchical ovarian follicles during growth and development.