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Updated: Aug 11, 2026
Culture and Co-Culture of Mouse Ovaries and Ovarian Follicles
Published on: March 17, 2015
Expression of interleukin-18 and its receptor in mouse ovary
Y Tsuji1, T H Tamaoki, A Hasegawa
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Japan. yoshi416@hyo-med.ac.jp
Problem:
Interleukin-18 (IL-18) strongly induces interferon-gamma production and is produced not only by types of immune cells but also by types of non-immune cells. Ovulation is thought to be an inflammation-like reaction in which many pro-inflammatory cytokines are involved. We investigated whether IL-18 is involved in the functions of ovary.
Method Of Study:
The 4-week-old immature female mice were examined for IL-18 and IL-18 receptor (IL-18R) expression on their ovaries under stimulation with pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin (PMSG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) by immunohistochemical staining, Western blotting and reverse transcript-polymerase chain reaction. The IL-18R was blocked by the injection of anti-IL-18R monoclonal antibody to immature mice during PMSG-hCG stimulation, and the number of ovulated ova was counted.
Results:
The expression of both proteins and mRNA of IL-18 and IL-18R were very low in immature ovaries before stimulation, but after PMSG injection both IL-18 and IL-18R increased dramatically in theca cells and reached a maximum level at the peri-ovulatory phase then slightly lowered, but still kept a high level during the luteal phase in the corpus luteum. The treatment of IL-18R monoclonal antibody to the mice during ovarian stimulation reduced the number of ovulated ova and inhibited the expansion of cumulus cells surrounding the ovum.
Conclusion:
IL-18 and IL-18R play roles in various kinds of function of ovary.
