Developmental Programming: Sheep Granulosa and Theca Cell-Specific Transcriptional Regulation by Prenatal Testosterone

Prenatal testosterone treated sheep, similar to PCOS women, manifest reduced cyclicity, functional hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovary (PCO) morphology. The PCO morphology results from increased follicular recruitment and persistence of antral follicles, consequence of reduced follicular growth and atresia, and driven by cell-specific gene expression changes that are poorly understood. Therefore, utilizing RNA sequencing, cell-specific transcriptional changes were assessed in laser capture microdissection isolated antral follicular granulosa and theca cells from 21 months-of- age control and prenatal testosterone treated sheep. 5 control sheep and 5 prenatal testosterone treated sheep, each with a theca cell and granulosa cell sample