Regulation of Luteinizing Hormone-Receptor and Follicle-Stimulating Hormone- Receptor Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Levels during Development in the Neonatal Mouse Ovary1

Normal gonadal development is dependent upon stimulation by the gonadotropic hormones, and it is likely that control of ovarian development is regulated by expression of gonadotropin receptors. In this study, quantitative changes in LH- and FSH-receptor mRNA levels were measured in the ovary during development in normal mice and in hypogonadal (hpg/hpg) mice, which lack circulating gonadotropins. The relative abundance of alternate transcripts encoding LH and FSH receptors was also determined. Results show that shortened transcripts of the receptors were abundant at all ages. Full-length transcripts of the LH receptor were not detectable until postnatal Day 5 although shortened transcripts encoding the extracellular domain of the receptor were present from birth. Between Days 5 and 7, LH-receptor transcript levels showed a marked increase in normal animals but no change in hpg/hpg animals. FSH-receptor transcripts encoding all domains of the receptor were detectable at low levels at birth, increased in concentration between Days 3 and 5, and peaked at Day 10. In hpg/hpg animals, FSH-receptor mRNA levels were normal up to Day 7 but failed to increase thereafter. These results show that early development of both LH- and FSH-receptor mRNA levels in the ovary is gonadotropin-independent. This coincides with early folliculogenesis to the primary stage. Further development of LH-receptor mRNA levels is gonadotropin-dependent although FSH-receptor mRNA levels continue to increase independently until early secondary follicles are present.