Analysis of Secreted Proteins from Prepubertal Ovarian Tissues Exposed In Vitro to Cisplatin and LH

It is well known that secreted and exosomal proteins are associated with a broad range of physiological processes involving tissue homeostasis and differentiation. In the present paper, our purpose was to characterize the proteome of the culture medium in which the oocytes within the primordial/primary follicles underwent apoptosis induced by cisplatin (CIS) or were, for the most part, protected by LH against the drug. To this aim, prepubertal ovarian tissues were cultured under control and in the presence of CIS, LH, and CIS + LH. The culture media were harvested after 2, 12, and 24 h from chemotherapeutic drug treatment and analyzed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS). We found that apoptotic conditions generated by CIS in the cultured ovarian tissues and/or oocytes are reflected in distinct changes in the extracellular microenvironment in which they were cultured. These changes became evident mainly from 12 h onwards and were characterized by the inhibition or decreased release of a variety of compounds, such as the proteases Htra1 and Prss23, the antioxidants Prdx2 and Hbat1, the metabolic regulators Ldha and Pkm, and regulators of apoptotic pathways such as Tmsb4x. Altogether, these results confirm the biological relevance of the LH action on prepuberal ovaries and provide novel information about the proteins released by the ovarian tissues exposed to CIS and LH in the surrounding microenvironment. These data might represent a valuable resource for future studies aimed to clarify the effects and identify biomarkers of these compounds’ action on the developing ovary.