Decomposition of Connective Tissue in Rabbit Ovarian Follicles by Multivesicular Structures of Thecal Fibroblasts

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Abstract
The fine structure of the graafian follicle has been examined for evidence of secretory activity during ovulation. The fibroblasts in the tunica albuginea and theca externa of all stages of ovulatory follicles contain microvesicles which cluster together and protrude from the surface of the plasma membrane. They usually develop in the vicinity of free ribosomes or rough endoplasmic reticulum and protrude from any region of the cytoplasmic matrix. The extracellular ground substance in the area appears to be digested by their contents. In groups of follicles taken at approximately 10, 5, 2 and ½ hr from ovulation, the multivesicular body concentration per 10,000 μ2 of ultrathin section was 5.5, 14.1, 49.5 and 28.7, respectively. (The decrease at ½ hr from ovulation can be attributed to the decrease in fibroblast concentration as the tissue dissociates.) The nature of these multivesicular bodies suggests they have an important part in decomposing the connective tissue of an ovulating graafian follicle. (Endocrinology88: 437, 1971)

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