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. 2011 Jun 20;6(6):e20754. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0020754

Figure 1. Standardization of experimental animal model for characterization of periovulatory events during the LH surge.

Figure 1

(A) Schematic representation of the experimental protocol employed for collection of follicular contents before and at different time points after peak LH surge. Follicular fluid, granulosa cells and follicle wall of the ovulatory follicle were harvested from the ovaries collected at the indicated time points for carrying out various analyses. (B) Circulating concentration of P4 during different days of estrous cycle for collection of follicular contents before and at different time points post peak LH surge. Serum P4 level was determined in blood samples collected daily beginning on day 1 of estrous cycle and at 12 h intervals after administration of PGF2α and GnRH treatments. For different days of estrous cycle, values from all animals recruited for this experiment (n = 23) were pooled and represented as mean ± SEM. (C) Mean ± SEM serum concentration of LH and FSH during the preovulatory period. (D) Follicular fluid concentration (mean ± SEM) of E2 and P4 at different time points before and after peak LH surge (n = >5 animals/time point). For each hormone, bars with different superscripts are significantly different (p<0.05).