Summary
Rat ovarian perifollicular contractile tissue was examined at specified intervals prior to ovulation to determine the type, relative number, and length of cellular junctions. Rat ovaries were taken for electron-microscopic observation at 1500 h on the afternoon of proestrus (proestrus 0-h group), at 2000 h (proestrus 5 h group), at 0100 h (proestrus 10-h group) and at 1600 h on the afternoon of diestrus I. Close junctions, intermediate junctions, and gap junctions were counted and measured. The number of gap junctions 1,000 μm of membrane and the number of intermediate junctions 1,000 μm of membrane was significantly higher in the proestrus 10 h group as compared to the other groups. There was no difference in the number of close junctions during the periods studied. Also the length of all junctions was similar in all groups. These morphological findings are discussed in the context of a contractile role for perifollicular tissue in the ovulatory process.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amsterdam A, Lindner HR, Gröschel-Stewart U (1977) Localization of actin and myosin in the rat oocyte and follicular wall by immunofluorescence. Anat Rec 187:311–327
Blandau RJ (1966) The mechanisms of ovulation. In: Greenblatt RB (ed) Ovulation. Philadelphia, Lippincott, pp 3–15
Burden H (1972) Ultrastructural observations on ovarian perifollicular smooth muscle in the cat, guinea pig, and rabbit. Am J Anat 133:125–142
Burden HW (1978) Ovarian Innervation. In: Jones RE (ed) The vertebrate ovary. Plenum Press, New York, pp 615–638
Burghardt RC, Anderson E (1979) Hormonal modulation of ovarian interstitial cells with particular reference to gap junctions. J Cell Biol 81:104–114
Burghardt RC, Anderson E (1981) Hormonal modulation of gap junctions in rat ovarian follicles. Cell Tissue Res 214:181–193
Burnstock G (1970) Structure of smooth muscle and its innervation. In: Bülbring E et al. (ed) Smooth muscle. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, pp 1–69
Decker RS (1976) Hormonal regulation of gap junction differentiation. J Cell Biol 69:669–685
Eppig JJ (1979) A comparison between oocyte growth in coculture with granulosa cells and oocytes with granulosa cell-oocyte junctional contact maintained in vitro. J Exp Zool 209:345–353
Espey LL (1978a) Ovulation. In: Jones RE (ed) The vertebrate ovary. Plenum Press, New York, pp 503–532
Espey LL (1978b) Ovarian contractility and its relationship to ovulation: a review. Biol Reprod 19:540–551
Everett JW (1964) Central neural control of reproductive functions of the adenohypophysis. Physiol Rev 44:373–431
Garfield RE, Daniel EE (1974) The structural basis of electrical coupling (cell-to-cell contacts) in rat myometrium. Gynecol Invest 5:284–300
Garfield RE, Sims S, Daniel EE (1977) Gap junctions: their presence and necessity in myometrium during parturition. Science 198:958–960
Garfield RE, Sims S, Kannan M, Daniel EE (1978) Possible role of gap junctions in activation of myometrium during parturition. Am J Physiol 235:C168-C179
Garfield RE, Kannan MS, Daniel EE (1980) Gap junction formation in myometrium: control by estrogens, progesterone, and prostaglandins. Am J Physiol 238:C81-C89
Gilula NB (1977) Gap junctions and cell communication. In: Brinkley BR, Porter KR (ed) International cell biology. The Rockefeller University Press, New York, pp 61–69
Karnovsky MJ (1967) The ultrastructural basis of capillary permeability studied with peroxidase as a tracer. J Cell Biology 35:213–236
Lipner HS, Maxwell BA (1960) Hypothesis concerning the role of follicular contractions in ovulation. Science 131:1737–1738
Lo CW, Gilula NB (1979) Gap junctional communication in the preimplantation mouse embryo. Cell 18:399–409
Meda P, Perrelet A, Orci L (1979) Increase of gap junctions between pancreatic β-cells during stimulation of insulin secretion. J Cell Biol 82:441–448
Merk F, Botticelli CR, Albright DT (1972) An intercellular response to estrogen by granulosa cells in the rat ovary; an electron microscope study. Endocrinology 90:992–1007
Merk F, Kwan P, Leav I (1980) Gap junctions in the myometrium of hypophysectomized estrogentreated rats. Cell Biol Int Reports 4:287–294
O'Shea JD (1970) An ultrastructural study of smooth muscle-like cells in the theca externa of ovarian follicles in the rat. Anat Rec 167:127–140
Osvaldo-Decima L (1970) Smooth muscle in the ovary of the rat and monkey. J Ultrastruc Res 29:218–237
Owman Ch, Sjöberg N-O, Wallach EE, Walles B, Wright KH (1979) Neuromuscular mechanisms of ovulation. In: Hafez ESE (ed) Human ovulation. Elsevier/North Holland Biomedical Press, New York, pp 57–100
Pendergrass PB, Talbot P (1979) The distribution of contractile cells in the apex of the preovulatory hamster follicle. Biol Reprod 20:205–213
Reynolds EG (1963) The use of lead citrate at high pH as an electron-opaque stain in electron microscopy. J Cell Biol 17:103–212
Sterin-Borda L, Borda E, Gimeno MF, Gimeno AL (1976) Spontaneous and prostaglandin — or oxytocin — induced motility of rat ovaries isolated during different stages of the estrous cycle: effects of norepinephrine. Fertil Steril 27:319–327
Virutamasen P, Wright KH, Wallach EE (1972) Effects of catecholamines on ovarian contractility in the rabbit. Obs Gyn 39:225–236
Walles B, Gröschel-Stewart U, Owman Ch, Sjöberg N-O, Unsicker K (1978) Fluorescence histochemical demonstration of a relationship between adrenergic nerves and cells containing actin and myosin in the rat ovary, with special reference to the follicle wall. J Reprod Fert 52:175–178
Walles B, Owman C, Sjöberg N-O (1980) The ovarian neuromuscular complex and its involvement in the mechanism of ovulation. In: Serio M, Martini L (ed) Animal models in human reproduction, Raven Press, New York
Weiner BJ (1971) Statistical principles in experimental design. Second edition. McGraw, New York, p 185
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Capps, M.L., Lawrence, I.E. & Burden, H.W. Cellular junctions in perifollicular contractile tissue of the rat ovary during the preovulatory period. Cell Tissue Res. 219, 133–141 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00210023
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00210023