To elucidate the role of estradiol- 17ß (E2) in the regulation of corpus luteum function

Corpus luteum (CL) is a transient endocrine tissue formed from the remnants of the ovarian follicle after ovulation. In response to gonadotropin surge, the ovulating follicle undergoes dramatic changes in expression of genes and differentiation of follicular cells into luteal cells. In several species, of the several genes that are down- regulated post ovulation, Cyp19A1 that codes for aromatase, essential for biosynthesis of estradiol- 17ß (E2), also get down- regulated but appears to get up- regulated at later time points in the estrous cycle to have critical role in E2 secretion. In primates and rodents, higher expression and higher E2 levels has been observed in CL. Surprisingly, in the recently carried out gene expression profiling of PGF2a- induced luteolysis studies in the bovine species [GSE27961], it was observed that expression of one of the earliest genes that was down- regulated was Cyp19A1 in the CL. However, the specific role of E2 in the regulation of CL function remains poorly defined. Thus, in the present study, efforts were made to examine the temporal changes in the global gene expression profile in the CL of pregnant rats after treatment with aromatase inhibitor (AI), Anastrozole, and E2 supplementation. The results obtained will further expand our knowledge on E2 target/responsive genes and the basic mechanism(s) that regulates the CL function. Key words: CL, E2, AI, Gene expression黄体（Corpus luteum, CL）是排卵后由卵巢卵泡残留物形成的一过性内分泌组织。在促性腺激素峰的刺激下，排卵卵泡会发生基因表达的显著改变，并将卵泡细胞分化为黄体细胞。在多个物种中，排卵后下调的诸多基因里，编码芳香化酶的Cyp19A1（该酶是雌二醇-17β（E2）生物合成的关键酶）同样会发生下调，但在发情周期的后续阶段又会上调，进而在E2分泌中发挥关键作用。在灵长类与啮齿类动物的黄体（CL）中，已观测到Cyp19A1的高表达以及更高的E2水平。令人意外的是，在近期针对牛物种开展的前列腺素F2α（PGF2α）诱导黄体溶解的基因表达谱分析研究[GSE27961]中，科研人员观测到，黄体中最早发生下调的基因之一便是Cyp19A1。然而，E2在调控黄体功能中的具体作用仍尚不明确。因此，本研究旨在探究妊娠大鼠黄体经芳香化酶抑制剂（AI）阿那曲唑（Anastrozole）以及E2补充处理后，其全基因表达谱的时序变化。本研究所得结果将进一步拓展我们对E2靶标/响应基因以及调控黄体功能的核心机制的认知。关键词：CL、E2、AI、基因表达