Figure 5.

Localization of αSMA, ET_A and ET_B protein in large antral follicle. Specific antibodies for αSMA (A and B), ET_B (C) and ET_A (D) proteins were used to stain adjacent sections of a normal human ovary followed by counter staining by Mayer's hematoxylin. The high magnification images (×400; B–D) were taken from the marked (arrow) area of (A) (×12.5). inTH, theca interna; exTH, theca externa; BL, blood vessel; AT, antrum. Note that ET_B expression is specific to theca interna (C), whereas ET_A expression is seen in the GC, theca interna and theca externa (D) where αSMA staining is most intense (B). No positive signal was seen in the negative controls (no primary antibody; not shown). These are representative images from one of the seven ovaries that had at least one healthy large follicle in each ovary.