Methods
SFs (n = 2166) were isolated from B6CBA/F1 female mice (n = 42), 12 days old, from 15 l. About half of the follicles isolated as SF were analyzed as such (n = 1143) and pooled to obtain 139 μg of extracted protein. Both SMR (n = 359) and AF (n = 124) were obtained after individual culture of 1023 follicles in a microdrop system under oil, selected for analysis and pooled, to obtain 339 μg and 170 μg of protein, respectively. The follicle proteome was analyzed combining isoelectric focusing (IEF) fractionation with 1D and 2D LC-MS/MS analysis to enhance protein identification. The three protein lists were submitted to the 'Compare gene list' tool in the PANTHER website to gain insights on the Gene Ontology Biological processes present and to Ingenuity Pathway Analysis to highlight protein networks. A label-free quantification was performed with 1D LC-MS/MS analyses to emphasize proteins with different expression profiles between the three follicular stages. Supplementary western blot analysis (using new biological replicates) was performed to confirm the expression variations of three proteins during follicle development in vitro. Main