“Expression of cadherins in the ovary of rats with polycystic ovarian disease”.

AMABLE PR; SALVETTI NR,; MÜLLER L; MIRA GA; GIMENO EJ; ORTEGA HH

Buenos Aires

Congreso; ICLAS Regional Meeting - Advances in the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals,; 2004

The calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecules, cadherins (Cad), regulate intercellular junction formation, cell shorting, and the establishment of cell polarity. Their important role in tissue remodeling suggests an involvement in ovarian cellular rearrangements throughout follicular development. The modulation of cadherins expression by hormones indicates that these proteins are involved in the maintenance of structure and function in reproductive tissues.  In the present study we analyze the expression of Cad in cystic ovaries induced by exposure at constant light. 20 rats (Wistar strain) were kept in a continuous light environment during 15 weeks. The animals were sacrificed and the ovaries were processed by histological techniques. 4 µm thick sections were subjected at immunohistochemical methods for detect Cad. Differences were detected in the Cad immunoexpression in the follicular wall of primary, secondary and tertiary follicles of cystic ovaries in comparison with control ovaries. The changes in cadherin expression, concurrent with folliculogenesis and cyst development, suggest an important function of these molecules in the morphogenesis, functional  development of the adult rat ovary as well as in the growth of many pathological structures such as ovarian cysts.