Molecular mechanisms of leptin receptor signaling in ovarian granulosa cells
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Extreme deviations from what is considered normal body weight, from anorexia to obesity, have been linked to reduced reproductive function in females. Discovered in 1994, leptin is a signaling hormone released from adipose tissue to mediate satiety effects in the hypothalamus. Leptin secretion is directly proportional to amount of body fat and evidence has accumulated that leptin and its receptor (Lepr) are found in a variety of tissues including granulosa cells (GCs) of the ovary. Thus, leptin through its receptor may play a role in reproductive function in females. Many studies have examined the effects of Lepr in GCs and the ovary, however the results are contradictory and all have been in vitro. Here we present the first in vivo study to examine the role of Lepr in GCs during follicular development and ovulation. Immature superovulated mice were used in all studies and GCs collected by follicle puncture. We first determined the expression profiles of Lepr isoforms (LeprA, LeprB) during follicular and luteal development along with leptin-related signaling molecules and targets. We also analyzed transcription factors potentially regulating Lepr expression in GCs. To examine the response of GCs to leptin in vivo, leptin hormone was administered at various times of follicular and luteal development. Lastly, we blocked Lepr action using a Lepr antagonist (SMLA) and determined its effects on ovulation. LeprA and LeprB were upregulated at 4h post- human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) with LeprA being the most abundant isoform showing a 23-fold increase from 0 to 4h post-hCG. Leptin was upregulated at the same time and Lepr signaling molecules: signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3), and suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (Socs3), were upregulated just after Lepr induction at 7 and 12h post-hCG, respectively. CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein beta (Cebpb), which was induced at 1h post-hCG, was shown to associate with the Lepr promoter and thus regulate Lepr expression. Early growth response protein 1 (Egr1) protein and mRNA data revealed it to be another potential regulatory transcription factor with upregulation at 1h post-hCG, just prior to Lepr upregulation. Thus, the mRNA profiles of genes examined provide evidence of a role for Lepr during the periovulatory period. This was further confirmed as the in vivo response of GCs to a physiological dose of leptin was enhanced at 6h post-hCG evidenced by phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (Mapk) and Stat3 proteins; however showed no change during the early follicular or luteal periods. Leptin treatment also increased expression of ovulation genes: a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 1 (Adamts1), programmed cell death 1 (Pdcd1), and Egr1. Antagonizing Lepr action reduced ovulation rate by 60% in SMLA-treated animals. This reduction appeared, at least in part, to be due to deregulated gene expression of Adamts10, Adamts19, Hyaluronan synthase 2 (Has2), amphiregulin (Areg), Pentraxin-related protein (Ptx3), and Forkhead box protein O1 (Foxo1). Overall, the results of this study provide molecular mechanisms for Lepr induction and signaling in GCs. In addition, it provides evidence that leptin and Lepr play a positive role during ovulation and are thus essential for optimal female fertility.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame distilled prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. Learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and 10,348 direct Gemma labels. Candidate is the union of thresholded teacher heads; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels or direct frontier model labels.
Codex and Gemma teacher scores by category
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.003 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one teacher head, not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".