Fig. 2. BGP-15 reduces ovarian collagen and promotes ovulation in reproductively aged mice.

(A) Experimental design in which female mice were treated with BGP-15 (100 mg/kg; in drinking water for 2 weeks plus intraperitoneal injection for 4 days immediately before ovulation; n = 36) or vehicle (n = 35) alongside young controls (n = 14), followed by assessments of ovarian fibrosis, ovulation, and oocyte developmental competence. At 14 months of age, ovaries were collected following gonadotropin stimulation and fibrosis was measured in sections from n = 3 to 5 mice per group by immunohistochemistry for collagen type I (green) and stromal cell marker NR2F2 (red) plus 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) nuclear counterstain (blue) (B) and PSR staining (C and D). Scale bars, 200 μm. Ovulated oocytes were counted in all mice (E), pooled into groups of three to six, and subjected to in vitro fertilization and embryo development monitored to the two-cell and blastocyst stage (F). Means ± SEM are shown. **P < 0.01 by one-way ANOVA (D and F) or two-tailed t test (E) compared to vehicle-treated old mice.