The existence and potential of germline stem cells in the adult mammalian ovary

It has long been accepted that the complement of follicles within the ovary is formed before birth in humans, or shortly after birth in rodents, and that no follicles are formed thereafter. This follows entry of all oogonia into meiosis in fetal life, with no remaining germ stem cells in the ovary,...

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Published inClimacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 22 - 26
Main Authors Telfer, E. E., Anderson, R. A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Taylor & Francis 02.01.2019
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Adult Germline Stem Cells - cytology
Animals
Female
Humans
neo-oogenesis
oocyte
Oocytes - cytology
Oogenesis
Oogonial stem cells
Oogonial Stem Cells - cytology
Ovarian Follicle - cytology
ovarian regeneration
Ovary - cytology
Reproductive health
Review
Stem cells
Womens health
Oogonial stem cells
ovarian regeneration
oocyte
neo-oogenesis
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Summary:It has long been accepted that the complement of follicles within the ovary is formed before birth in humans, or shortly after birth in rodents, and that no follicles are formed thereafter. This follows entry of all oogonia into meiosis in fetal life, with no remaining germ stem cells in the ovary, in contrast to the presence of spermatogonia in the testis. This has been brought back into debate in recent years, following the demonstration of isolation of cells expressing both germline and stem markers from the postnatal ovary in several species, including humans. We describe these cells as putative ovarian stem cells. Isolation of these cells is challenging, adding to the debate as to their existence, and the validity of DDX4 as the main marker used for their isolation has also to be questioned. While different groups have used varying techniques and indeed terminology to describe these cells, the body of evidence regarding their initial characterization after isolation is growing. There remain very limited data regarding their developmental potential, but the demonstration of the production of functional oocytes from induced pluripotent stem cells and the advances in ovarian follicle culture techniques provide a basis for such studies.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
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ISSN:1369-7137
1473-0804
DOI:10.1080/13697137.2018.1543264