RNA Expression Data from Four Isolated Bovine Ovarian Somatic Cell Types

After ovulation, somatic cells of the ovarian follicle (theca and granulosa cells) become the small and large luteal cells of the corpus luteum. Aside from known cell type-specific receptors and steroidogenic enzymes, little is known about the differences in the gene expression profiles of these four cell types. Analysis of the RNA present in each bovine cell type using Affymetrix microarrays yielded new cell-specific genetic markers, functional insight into the behavior of each cell type via Gene Ontology Annotations and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis, and evidence of small and large luteal cell lineages using Principle Component Analysis. Enriched expression of select genes for each cell type was validated by qPCR. This expression analysis offers insight into the lineage and differentiation process that transforms somatic follicular cells into luteal cells. The orignal Affymetrix .CEL files and the normalized linear expression data are included in this submission. There are four cell types analyzed including granulosa cells (GC, n = 4), theca cells (TC, n = 3), large luteal cells (LLC, n = 3), and small luteal cells (SLC, n = 3). Each replicate is from tissue from a separate cow. There are no treatments or controls, as all the cells are collected from healthy animals at specific stages of the estrous cycle (pre-ovulation dominant follicle versus mid-luteal phase corpus luteum).