Study summary · research use only
Activin and follistatin in female reproduction
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
This review article discusses activin and follistatin in female reproduction. The authors recount their identification in follicular fluid via effects on pituitary FSH secretion and describe them, with activin receptors, as widely expressed autocrine/paracrine regulators. They state follistatin's major function is to bind activin with high affinity and block its receptor binding, and that total activin A and follistatin circulate throughout pregnancy. The authors note activin A is increased in abnormal pregnancies such as pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction, and gestational hypertension, with contributions from placenta, vascular endothelium, and peripheral mononuclear cells, and unchanged follistatin in pre-eclampsia suggesting availability of free activin A.
Abstract
Activin and follistatin were initially identified in the follicular fluid based on their effects on pituitary FSH secretion in the mid-1980s. It is now evident that activin, follistatin and activin receptors are widely expressed in many tissues where they function as autocrine/paracrine regulators of a variety of physiological processes including reproduction. The major function of follistatin is to bind to activin with high affinity and block activin binding to its receptors. Total activin A and follistatin are also found in the maternal circulation throughout pregnancy. Activin A levels are increased in abnormal pregnancies such as pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction and gestational hypertension. The placenta, vascular endothelial cells and activated peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMC) may all contribute to the raised levels of activin A in pre-eclampsia with unaltered follistatin in pre-eclamptic placenta, PBMCs or vascular endothelial cells suggesting the availability of 'free' activin A that could be biologically active in these cells.
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