FIGURE 4.

Thyrostimulin, but not TSH, is expressed in the ovary. A, ovaries collected at the indicated times from superovulated rats were used for cDNA preparation. The subunit genes, Gpa1 and TSHβ for TSH and Gpa2 and Gpb5 for thyrostimulin, were PCR-amplified. To assess the transcript levels of Gpa2 and Gpb5 in various ovarian compartments, cDNAs from different ovarian cell types were isolated for PCR amplification of the Gpa2 and Gpb5 genes (B) and real-time quantification of the Gpb5 gene (C). Data are expressed as the means ± S.D. For all data, at least three individual repeats were done, and β-actin levels served as internal and normalized controls. GC, granulosa cells; TS, theca shells; OC, oocytes; CL, corpora lutea.