Figure 3

Effects of PI3K inhibitors on mRNA expression of CYP17A1 and StAR in bovine theca cells. Theca cells were incubated with LH in the presence or absence of wortmannin (0.1 μM) or LY294002 (25 μM) in serum-coated dishes with serum free medium for 12 h. Control cells (CTL) were cultured in the absence of added treatments. Then RT-PCR was conducted using CYP17A1, StAR, and 36B4 (internal control) primers using total RNA isolated from the cells. The products were fractionated on 1% agarose gel and stained with ethidium bromide. The mRNA levels of CYP17A1 and StAR were expressed as ratio to 36B4 values. Data are the mean ± SEM (n = 5). Different letters represent statistically significant differences of means (P < 0.05).