Effect Of Anti-müllerian Hormone On Ovarian Follicle Growth And Development In Hens

A study to elucidate the role of AMH in regulating ovarian follicular development and follicle selection in laying hen's reproductive system,which thought a crucial role in activation and maturation of follicles.The domestic chicken ovary,it is highly regulated follicle hierarchy,is a practical animal model study of steroidogenesis.Effect of AMH on oviposition is a multiplex process in the laying hens.Our goal was to characterize reproductive performance,progesterone concentration in blood plasma,some steroidogenic genes expression(HSD3B1,STAR and CYP11A1)and histological observation in ovaries and follicles with different concentrations AMH injection.A total of 40 hens(29 weeks old)were randomly separated into four treatment groups.In three experimental groups,hens were injected AMH150,AMH300 or CON+ injected daily for 25 days,and CON-.The results indicated that AMH300-treated group hens had a significantly lower weight of ovary and hierarchical follicles.On the other hand,egg weight and ovary weight of hens with AMH150 were higher than those of hens injected with CON+ and AMH300,so did hierarchical follicles.Our results found that hens treated with 150 ng/day AMH for 25 days had higher egg,ovary and hierarchical follicles weight than that of CON+ and 300 ng/day treated,although a significant difference is found between the CON-and CON+ groups which suggests that the possibility of the stress of injection.However,AMH300 group had the lowest weight of ovary and hierarchical follicles(Table 3-1 and Table 3-2).Thus,we hypothesized that ovary and follicular development of hens were affected by different ways depended on AMH concentrations(150 ng/day or 300 ng/day).Especially,AMH150 or AMH300 injection increased mRNA expression of the steroidogenic genes in ovarian tissue and follicular wall of the largest follicle.However,progesterone level in the blood was reduced by different concentrations of AMH injection.In addition,thickness of the granulosa layer from preovulatory largest follicle F1 was significantly reduced by the daily injections.On the whole,the results of this experiment support that AMH might have a role on follicle development and function of granulosa cells in chicken.Based on the results,it can be concluded that different concentrations of AMH in vivo treatment affect ovarian follicle development and steroidogenesis by the different ways in laying hens.Our results may be benefit to clearly find out the mechanism of AMH on the egg laying process in chicken laying period.