Concentrations of bone morphogenetic protein-15 (BMP-15) and growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9) in follicular cysts, mono - and polyoocyte follicles in gilts

The objective of the study was to determine the concentration of BMP-15 and GDF-9 in the fluid of follicular cysts and ovarian follicles, and to compare their concentrations in mono- and polyoocyte follicles in gilts. The study involved two experiments conducted on the ovaries collected post-slaughter from gilts (7-8 months old). The first experiment covered 31 follicular single cyst gilts (15-25 mm in diameter) and 41 gilts without cysts. Follicular fluid from follicles of 8-10 mm in diameter (n=41) and 5-8 mm in diameter (n=41), and cystic fluid (n=31) were collected for analysis. The second experiment involved collecting follicular fluid from poly- (n=19) and monooocyte (n=22) follicles. The concentration of BMP-15 and GDF-9 was then determined in the samples using specimen-specific ELISA kits. The differences in the concentration of these factors were calculated by means of analysis of variance and a posthoc test. Duncan’s multiple range test was used to verify the significance of differences at P