The distribution and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) during follicular development and atresia in the pig

The involvement of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) in ovarian physiological processes has been widely reported, but the location and role of VEGFA during follicular atresia remain unknown. This study investigated the distribution and expression of VEGFA during porcine follicular development and atresia. Pig ovaries were obtained, individual medium-sized (3–5mm in diameter) antral follicles were separated and classified into healthy, early atretic or progressively atretic groups. Immunobiology and quantitative techniques were used to investigate the varied follicular distribution of VEGFA at both the morphological and molecular level. The results indicated that VEGFA protein expression peaked in tertiary follicles, mostly distributed in the thecal and inner granulosa layers, during follicular development while VEGFA mRNA was mainly expressed in the inner granulosa layers. Additionally, healthy antral follicles showed a significantly higher expression of VEGFA than atretic follicles in both theca and granulosa cells. Knockdown of VEGFA using siRNA revealed an antiapoptosis effect of VEGFA in cultured pig granulosa cells. Our results increase the knowledge of VEGFA functions in follicles.