Follicular atresia is mediated by apoptosis or programmed cell death. If apoptosis could be decreased, follicular survival would increase, thus increasing the propensity for ovulation. An average increase of one pig per litter nationwide would allow us to produce the currently produced 110 million market pigs with fewer sows than presently required for this level of production. Therefore, the research in this study will improve efficiency of pork production, a pork producer priority. ST-transgenic mice are exposed to very high amounts of circulating ST throughout their entire postnatal life yielding information on the potential consequences of maximal ST stimulation.
Maximal responses provide a good starting point for mechanistic studies.
The costs and logistics of producing comparable levels and duration of ST exposure in domestic animals are prohibitive. The consistency and the magnitude of this effect provide what we believe is an excellent model system for identifying the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for increased ovulation rate. P450scc is the rate-limiting steroidogenesis enzyme in the ovary, and LDLR is necessary for the uptake of cholesterol, the primary steroid hormone precursor in the ovary. We are not aware of any studies of the effects of ST on apoptotic cell death in the ovary. References Cited 1.