Granulosa cells form highly specialized membrane connections with the oocyte and each other, allowing the passage of regulatory molecules and metabolites between cells. These connections must be maintained for oocyte growth in vitro and have been implicated in oocyte aging both in vivo and in vitro. Changes in gene expression in granulosa cells from persistent follicles may adversely affect oocyte development. Previous studies have reported changes in gene expression in oocytes and high embryonic loss associated with persistent follicles. Cows were assigned randomly to two groups; growing follicles on day 8 (young cells) and persistent follicles on day 15 (aged cells) of the estrous cycle (estrus = d 0). Cows were super-stimulated with Folltropin-V® on day 1 to 4 and received 25 mg PGF2α on day 6. Cows in P15 group received progesterone from CIDR-B devices on day 4 through 13. Follicles were aspirated immediately after colpotomy. Granulosa cells were collected from each aspirate, pelleted, and stored at -80° until total RNA isolation. Three biological replicates, after linear amplification, were used in a direct comparison microarray experiment using a bovine oligo array. Microarray data were analyzed using GenePix AutoProcessor (GPAP 3.2;