Effects of the <i>FABP4</i> gene on steroid hormone secretion in goose ovarian granulosa cells

1. To investigate the physiological role of <i>FABP4</i> in the goose ovary, this study determined the effects of overexpressing and siRNA interfering FABP4 on progesterone (P₄) and oestradiol (E₂) production in granulosa cells. Measurements were made by ELISA, real-time qRT-PCR and western blotting. 2. The concentrations of P₄ and E₂ in the <i>FABP4</i> overexpression granulosa cells were increased compared to the control group (P &gt; 0.05 for P₄; P 2). Likewise, the mRNA and protein expression levels of <i>CYP11A1</i> and <i>CYP19A1</i> were significantly higher than in the control group (P 4 and E₂ in the FABP4 silencing granulosa cells were significantly decreased compared with the control group (P CYP11A1 and <i>CYP19A1</i> were significantly lower than in the control group (P 3. The study indicated that the <i>FABP4</i> gene may regulate steroid hormone secretion and the expression of the steroidogenic genes in geese ovarian granulosa cells. These results support the possibility that the <i>FABP4</i> gene mediates ovarian steroid hormone biosynthesis function and reproduction in geese.