LAUSR

The most important regulators of tissue remodelling during ovarian follicular growth, development, ovulation and atresia are gonadotropins, steroid hormones, growth factors and different proteolytic enzymes. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) such as collagenase or gelatinase (i.e. MMP-1, -8, -2 and -9) and associated tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP-1, -2, -3 and -4) control connective tissue remodelling during follicular rupture. In this study, we hypothesized that an imbalance in the MMP-TIMP system may be an intra-ovarian component that contributes to the pathogenesis of cystic ovarian disease (COD) in cows. Taking into account that the control of MMP activity by TIMPs could determine their effects in both physiological and pathological conditions, MMP and TIMP mRNA and protein expression was examined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC), respectively, in ovaries from control cows and cows with COD. Expression of mRNA encoding MMP-2, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 was lower in follicular cysts than in control pre-ovulatory follicles, while the results by IHC showed this imbalance only for TIMP-2 protein expression. Additional analysis by zymography to evaluate the gelatinase activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9 demonstrated higher MMP-2 activity in follicular fluid (FF) of cysts than in FF of pre-ovulatory follicles. On the other hand, MMP-9 activity was increased in follicular cysts and absent in the FF of pre-ovulatory follicles. These findings suggest that the altered mRNA expression and activities of the MMP-TIMP system may be related to the failure in ovulation and follicular development observed in COD.