Fig. 3

Major molecular mechanisms and regulatory elements involved in the control of antral follicle atresia in the cycling ovary. The pathways regulated by FSH, which is secreted by the pituitary gland, promote the survival of granulosa cells and the growth and maturation of the follicle (left side of the figure). These pathways inhibit apoptosis and promote pro-survival autophagy (and mitophagy in particular) in antral and dominant follicles. When FSH levels are insufficient, extrinsic apoptosis is induced in the granulosa cell layer and results in follicular atresia (right side of the figure). Pro-ADCD additionally promotes the degeneration of pre-antral follicles under the conditions of oxidative stress. Orange circles with the letter “P” indicate protein phosphorylation, red crosses indicate the lack or suppression of certain regulators, and dashed elements indicate the regulators and connections that are not definitively confirmed up to date