Transcriptional effects of progesterone receptor antagonist in rat granulosa cells

Progesterone, acting via the nuclear progesterone receptor (PGR), reduces apoptosis in periovulatory granulosa cells, and is a likely mediator of the anti-atretic actions of LH. The underlying mechanisms, however, have not been clearly defined. In this study, we sought to identify progesterone-mediated transcriptional changes involved in apoptosis regulation. Granulosa cells from immature, gonadotropin-primed female rats were treated in vitro with 100 nM of the PGR antagonist Org 31710. Transcriptional effects were analyzed after 5 and 22 h of incubation using microarrays, and the expression of 85 genes was subsequently measured by quantitative PCR. Follow-up experiments focused on genes related to the functional group “apoptosis”. We have identified novel, early gene targets of PGR that may be involved in the control of apoptosis and other biologically significant functions in periovulatory granulosa cells. This study expands our knowledge of events that occur during the processes of ovulation and luteinization.