Laboratory of Aging and Infertility Research, Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Cells. 2019 Jan 28;8(2):93. doi: 10.3390/cells8020093.
A now large body of evidence supports the existence of mitotically active germ cells in postnatal ovaries of diverse mammalian species, including humans. This opens the possibility that adult stem cells naturally committed to a germline fate could be leveraged for the production of female gametes outside of the body. The functional properties of these cells, referred to as female germline or oogonial stem cells (OSCs), in ovaries of women have recently been tested in various ways, including a very recent investigation of the differentiation capacity of human OSCs at a single cell level. The exciting insights gained from these experiments, coupled with other data derived from intraovarian transplantation and genetic tracing analyses in animal models that have established the capacity of OSCs to generate healthy eggs, embryos and offspring, should drive constructive discussions in this relatively new field to further exploring the value of these cells to the study, and potential management, of human female fertility. Here, we provide a brief history of the discovery and characterization of OSCs in mammals, as well as of the in-vivo significance of postnatal oogenesis to adult ovarian function. We then highlight several key observations made recently on the biology of OSCs, and integrate this information into a broader discussion of the potential value and limitations of these adult stem cells to achieving a greater understanding of human female gametogenesis in vivo and in vitro.
大量证据表明，包括人类在内的多种哺乳动物的出生后卵巢中存在有丝分裂活性的生殖细胞。这为利用自然定向生殖系命运的成体干细胞在体外产生雌性配子开辟了可能性。这些细胞的功能特性，称为雌性生殖细胞或卵原干细胞 (OSCs)，最近已通过各种方式在女性卵巢中进行了测试，包括最近对人类 OSCs 在单细胞水平上的分化能力的研究。这些实验获得的令人兴奋的见解，加上其他源自动物模型的卵巢内移植和遗传追踪分析的数据，这些数据证实了 OSCs 产生健康卵子、胚胎和后代的能力，应该推动这个相对较新领域的建设性讨论，以进一步探索这些细胞对研究和潜在管理人类女性生育力的价值。在这里，我们简要回顾了哺乳动物 OSCs 的发现和特征，以及出生后卵发生对成年卵巢功能的体内重要性。然后，我们重点介绍了最近关于 OSCs 生物学的几个关键观察结果，并将这些信息纳入更广泛的讨论中，探讨这些成体干细胞在更大程度上理解体内和体外人类配子发生的潜在价值和局限性。
