Symposium: Endocrine aspects of follicular and oocyte growth
Role of transforming growth factor β in ovarian surface epithelium biology and ovarian cancer

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Abstract

Ovarian cancers arise out of the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE), which is the single layer of epithelial cells covering the ovary. These cells go through repeated cycles of proliferation with the growth and rupture of ovarian follicles. One growth factor involved in the regulation of OSE is transforming growth factor β (TGFβ). The different isoforms of TGFβ (TGFβ1, TGFβ2 and TGFβ3) and its receptor are all present in both OSE and the underlying ovarian surface stroma. The levels of the TGFβ isoforms and receptors are regulated independently of each other in these different ovarian tissues. Observations suggest the existence of multiple autocrine/paracrine TGFβ signalling loops. TGFβ acts to inhibit proliferation of normal OSE and early stage ovarian carcinomas. Conversely, in later stage ovarian cancer the inhibitory actions of TGFβ on epithelial proliferation have been overcome, while TGFβ is able to promote malignant neoplastic behaviours. The regulation of TGFβ signalling by ovarian steroid hormones may be one mechanism by which the OSE responds to cyclic changes in the underlying follicles.

Section snippets

After training at Reed College, Portland, Oregon, and Washington State University, Michael Skinner became MRC post-doctoral fellow in the CH Best Institute, Toronto, Canada in 1982, working under Dr Irving B Fritz. Associate Professorships at Vanderbilt University, Nashville (1984–1991), and University of California, San Francisco (1991–1996) followed. From 1991 to 1996, he was also a member of the Reproductive Endocrinology Center and the Developmental Biology Program in Biological Sciences at

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    • Cited by (0)

    After training at Reed College, Portland, Oregon, and Washington State University, Michael Skinner became MRC post-doctoral fellow in the CH Best Institute, Toronto, Canada in 1982, working under Dr Irving B Fritz. Associate Professorships at Vanderbilt University, Nashville (1984–1991), and University of California, San Francisco (1991–1996) followed. From 1991 to 1996, he was also a member of the Reproductive Endocrinology Center and the Developmental Biology Program in Biological Sciences at University of California. Since 1996 he has been both Director of the Center for Reproductive Biology and Professor in the School of Molecular Biosciences at Washington State University. His current research interests include Sertoli cell differentiation and testis development, and folliculogenesis and ovary biology.

    Eric Nilsson has held post-doctoral fellowships on the Yamamoto Behaviour Genes Project at the Mitsubishi-Kasei Institute of Life Sciences in Tokyo, Japan (1996–1998) and under Dr Grant Mastick at University of Nevada, Reno, USA (1998–1999). He is currently post-doctoral research fellow to Dr Michael Skinner at Washington State University. He won the Jacob Monson Scholarship in 1978 and 1979, and the American Society of Animal Science Scholarship in 1983. Dr Nilsson's current research is on signalling factors relating to mammalian ovarian and follicular development, and treatments for ovarian cancer in the nude mouse model.

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