In mammals, ovulation is a multistep physiological process that includes preovulatory follicle growth, oocyte meiotic maturation, cumulus-oocyte complex (COC) expansion, follicle rupture, and luteinization. TGF-β signaling pathway has multiple functions in mammalian ovary, as its complexity in ovarian function has been demonstrated by mouse models with knockouts of TGF-β receptors and SMADs. We describe the protocol that we use to study functions of TGF-β signaling pathway in follicle development and ovulation. Because total knockout of TGF-β pathway components often causes embryonic lethality, which prevents further investigation of these genes in ovarian functions, people have generated ovarian cell type-specific knockout mouse strains for TGF-β signaling pathway genes. These mouse models are also described.
CITATION STYLE
Yu, C., Zhou, J. J., & Fan, H. Y. (2016). Studying the functions of TGF-β signaling in the ovary. In Methods in Molecular Biology (Vol. 1344, pp. 301–311). Humana Press Inc. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2966-5_19
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