Figure 8.
Schematic depiction of HB-EGF regulation to GCs. Elevated HB-EGF was noted in follicular fluid of PCOS patients, where it might induce the GCs production of more estrogen through cAMP-PKA-JNK/ERK-Ca2+-FOXO1 pathway after binding to EGFR and brought about mitochondrial dysfunction, resulting in the release of cytochrome C from mitochondria into the cytosol to trigger GCs apoptosis.