Tabriz University of Medical Sciences Advanced Pharmaceutical Bulletin 2228-5881 11 4 2021 09 19 Combination of Estradiol with Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Stimulates Granulosa Cells Differentiation into Oocyte-Like Cells 712 718 10.34172/apb.2021.080 EN Soudabe Yousefi https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5668-2248 Maryam Akbarzadeh https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4054-6396 Jafar Soleimanirad Kobra Hamdi Laya Farzadi Aalie Ghasemzadeh Mahdi Mahdipour Reza Rahbarghazi https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3864-9166 Mohammad Nouri https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5367-9956 Journal Article 10.34172/apb.2021.080 2020 02 11 2020 07 26 Purpose: Previous studies have documented that cumulus granulosa cells (GCs) can trans-differentiation into different non-ovarian cells, showing their multipotentiality to repopulate the injured cells in ovarian tissue. The current experiment is aimed to assess the differentiation capacity of human cumulus GCs toward the oocyte-like phenotype in vitro. Methods: GCs were isolated from healthy female volunteers subjected to in vitro fertilization or intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF-ICSI). The effect of different media supplemented with leukemia inhibitory factors (LIFs), 5 ng/mL estradiol, and 0.005 IU/mL follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were investigated to the differentiation of GCs toward oocyte-like phenotype via monitoring the expression of Oct3/4 and GATA-4 using flow cytometry analysis. The expression of genes such as FIGLA, NOBOX, and SYCP3 was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. We also assess morphological adaptation by using bright-field microscopic imaging. Results: Exposure of GCs to LIFs increased the number of cells expressing stemness factor Oct3/4 coincided with the suppression of GATA-4 after 7 days (P<0.05). We found that the transcript level of all genes FIGLA, Nobox, and SYCP-3 decreased in cells after treatment with a FSH (P<0.05). According to our data, the incubation of GCs with estradiol increased the expression of genes related to the oocyte-like phenotype. Conclusion: Our finding revealed that the combination of LIFs and estradiol could induce the GCs’ oogenesis capacity and thereby is possibly suggested as a therapeutic strategy during the occurrence of gynecological disorders.