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. 2008 Aug 7;22(10):2336–2352. doi: 10.1210/me.2008-0142

Figure 4.

Figure 4

Dicer1 cKO Ovaries Have Increased Apoptosis

Comparison of ovarian histology from 12-wk-old control (A) and cKO (B) females shows that Dicer1 mutant ovaries contain follicles at all stages of folliculogenesis as well as corpora lutea (cl). Despite these observations, we also noted a trend toward increased atretic follicles in cKO ovaries at 6 wk of age (data not shown). TUNEL staining of 6-wk-old ovaries from control (C) and cKO (D) mice revealed increased apoptotic granulosa cells (green/yellow) in the Dicer1 mutant. Nuclei are counterstained with propidium iodide (red). E, TUNEL-negative control. F, High magnification of TUNEL-positive follicles in the Dicer1 cKO ovary. Note that granulosa cells (gc, arrowheads) are TUNEL positive, whereas oocytes (oo, arrow) are negative. G, The proportion of TUNEL-positive follicles was quantified and found to be significantly higher in cKO ovaries (44.9 ± 5.4%) as compared with control ovaries (23.5 ± 10.8%). *, P < 0.05 (Student’s t test).