Induction of alpha-caveolin-1 (αCAV1) expression in bovine granulosa cells in response to an ovulatory dose of human chorionic gonadotropin

Caveolins are implicated in endocytosis, cholesterol trafficking and signal transduction. A cDNA fragment corresponding to caveolin‐1 (CAV1) was identified in a mRNA profiling expression study in bovine granulosa cells (GC) following human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)‐induced ovulation. Thus, we have characterized CAV1 cDNA and studied its spatio‐temporal expression pattern in bovine ovarian follicles. The full‐length bovine αCAV1 cDNA was cloned and encodes a putative 22 kDa protein. Expression of αCAV1 was studied in bovine GC obtained from follicles at different developmental stages: small follicles (SF: 2–4 mm), dominant follicles (DF), ovulatory follicles (OF: 24 hr post‐hCG), and corpus luteum (CL). Semiquantitative RT‐PCR analysis showed a 6.5‐fold increase in αCAV1 mRNA in GC of OF versus DF (P