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Updated: Mar 31, 2026

Ovarian Tissue Culture to Visualize Phenomena in Mouse Ovary
Published on: June 19, 2018
Studying the Functions of TGF-β Signaling in the Ovary
Chao Yu1, Jian-Jie Zhou1, Heng-Yu Fan2
1Life Science Institute and Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Abstract:
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.
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