The effect of IGF-1 and FSH on the in vitro development of caprine secondary follicles and on the IGF-1, IGFR-I and FSHR mRNA levels

This study verified the in vitro effects of IGF-1, FSH or both on caprine preantral follicle development and mRNA levels encoding IGF-1, IGFR-1 and FSHR. Secondary follicles were cultured for six days with FSH, IGF-1 or IGF-1 + FSH. The results showed that IGF-1 and/or FSH addition did not influence follicular development for six days. The interaction between IGF-1 and FSH increased the mRNA levels of IGF-1 and FSHR, and FSH increased the expression of the IGFR-1 mRNA. Thus, IGF-1 and/or FSH increased IGF-1, IGFR-1 and FSHR mRNA levels in in vitro cultured caprine secondary follicles, but they did not influence their development after six days of in vitro culture.