Fig. 9.

RanBPM is not required for follicle maturation in the adult mouse ovary. (A-C) β-Gal staining of adult RanBPM heterozygous ovary sections showing prominent labeling of the oocyte in follicles at different stages of maturation (arrows in A). B displays a higher magnification picture of the Graafian follicle shown in A. C shows RanBPM expression in primary follicles. RanBPM is also expressed in the flattened thecal cells (th) of the follicles. Sections counterstained with Neutral Red. gr, granulosa; a, antrum. Scale bars: 100 μm. (D-G) Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E; D,E) and TUNEL (F,G) staining of ovary sections from 3-week-old superovulated wild-type (WT; D,F) and RanBPM^−/− (E,G) females showing the presence of secondary (antral) follicles in the RanBPM^−/− ovary and no significant difference in apoptosis between control and mutant superovulated ovaries. Scale bars: 500 μm.