Figure 3
FSH receptor studies on sheep OSE smears. (A) FSH receptors are immuno-localized on the stem cells and germ cell nests ‘cysts’ whereas the epithelial cells remain distinctly negative. (B) Confocal imaging of FSHR localization on the stem cells. VSELs show nuclear staining whereas the OGSCs have cell surface expression of FSHR. In situ hybridization results using specific oligo probes for (C) Fsh-r1 and (D) Fsh-r3 transcripts on FSH treated sheep OSE smears. As evident Fsh-r1 transcript is observed in the nuclei of both VSELs (arrow) and OGSCs (asterix). Fsh-r3 transcript is localized both in the nuclei and cytoplasm even in the germ cell nests ‘cysts’. Presence of Fsh-r3 in both cytoplasm and nuclei suggests active involvement of this transcript during FSH action on the stem cells.