Exogenous Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein-4 Modulates Steroidogenesis of Rat Granulosa Cells through Wnt/β-catenin and PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathways

摘要

Background:It has been reported that secreted frizzled-related protein-4 known as an antagonist of Wnt signaling pathway plays a role in luteinization process of rodent granulosa cells. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to determine whether recombinant human secreted frizzled-related protein-4 (rhSFRP-4) could directly induce terminal differentiation of rat Granulosa Cells (GCs) and 2) to understand how the modulation of β-catenin and Protein Kinase B (PKB)/AKT activity by exogenous SFRP-4 could be involved in steroidogenesis.