Fig. 4.

Increase of apoptotic granulosa cells in Ctgf cKO (Amhr2^cre/+) ovaries. A TUNEL staining of 4- to 5-month-old ovaries from control (D) and Ctgf cKO (Amhr2^cre/+) (A) female mice reveal a significant increase with apoptotic granulosa cells (green/yellow). Nuclei are counterstained with propidium iodide (red). B and C, High magnification of TUNEL-positive follicles in the Ctgf cKO (Amhr2^cre/+) ovary. E, High magnification of TUNEL-negative follicles in the control ovary. F, TUNEL-negative control. Note that granulosa cells are TUNEL positive, whereas oocytes are negative. G, The proportion of TUNEL-positive follicles was quantified and found to be significantly higher in Ctgf cKO (Amhr2^cre/+) ovaries than control ovaries. H, Caspase-3 transcript levels measured in granulosa cells by real-time qPCR in control (n = 5) and Ctgf cKO female mice (n = 5). Caspase-3 mRNA expression is markedly higher in granulosa cells from Ctgf cKO (Amhr2^cre/+) female mice relative to control female mice. The data are shown as means ± sem. The control values were set to equal 1. ***, P < 0.05 (vs. control female mice). In panels A and D, bars correspond to 250 μm. The bars in panels B, C, E, and F correspond to 150 μm.