Fig. 2: LH/hCG promotes TGFBR and SMAD4 expression in the ampulla.

a Comparison of steady-state levels of Tgfbr1, Tgfbr2, Smad2, Smad3, and Smad4 mRNA in the ampullae isolated from mice before and after hCG injection (n = 3 independent experiments). b Protein levels of TGFBR1, TGFBR2, SMAD4, p-SMAD2/3, and p-SMAD3 in the ampullae isolated from mice before and after hCG injection (at 13 h post-hCG treatment). (n = 3 independent experiments). Total levels of SMAD2/3 and SMAD3 were used as corresponding loading controls for p-SMAD2/3 and p-SMAD3, respectively, and β-actin was used as the loading control for TGFBR1, TGFBR2, and SMAD4. Bars indicate the mean ± SD. Each data point represents a biologically independent experiment. Statistical analysis was performed by one-way ANOVA Tukey test in (a) and by two-tailed unpaired Student’s t-test in (b). ns, no significance (P ≥ 0.05). **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001. c Immunofluorescence analysis of TGFBR1,TGFBR2, SMAD4, p-SMAD2/3, and p-SMAD3 (green) in the oviductal ampulla isolated from mice before and after hCG injection (at 13 h post-hCG treatment). (n = 3 independent experiments). Nuclei were counterstained by DAPI (blue). The amplified views of the boxed area are shown on the right-hand side. Scale bars represent 50 μm.