Figure 5. Effects of FSH on the NSN-to-SN transition.

(A–C) Effects of FSH in culture media on NSN-to-SN of oocytes, and on levels of p-MAPK and Npr2 mRNA in CCs, respectively. (D,E) cAMP levels in CCs after culture of COCs or CCs, respectively. (F) FSH concentration in follicular fluid from 1–2 mm or 3–6 mm follicles. Freshly collected (FC) COCs were cultured for 14 h in TCM-199 (M) with (+) or without FSH (F) or ODPF inhibitors (I) before examination for chromatin configuration in oocytes or assay for p-MAPK, Npr2 mRNA or cAMP levels in CCs. To observe chromatin configuration, each treatment was repeated 4–5 times with each replicate containing about 25 oocytes. For p-MAPK and NPR2 mRNA assays in CCs, Each treatment was repeated 3 times with each replicate containing CCs from 200 COCs. For cAMP measurement in CCs, each treatment was repeated 3 times with each replicate including about 2 × 10⁵ CCs. For FSH assays in follicular fluid, each treatment was repeated 3 times with each replicate including 50 follicles. (a–c) Values without a common letter above their bars differ significantly (P < 0.05).