Department of Stem Cell Biology and Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.
J Reprod Dev. 2021 Jun 21;67(3):189-195. doi: 10.1262/jrd.2021-040. Epub 2021 Apr 25.
In female reproduction, the oocyte number is limited after birth. To achieve a continuous ovulatory cycle, oocytes are stored in primordial follicles. Therefore, the regulation of primordial follicle dormancy and activation is important for reproductive sustainability, and its collapse leads to premature ovarian insufficiency. In this review, we summarize primordial follicle development and the molecular mechanisms underlying primordial follicle maintenance and activation in mice. We also overview the mechanisms discovered through in vitro culture of functional oocytes, including the establishment of primordial follicle induction by environmental factors, which revealed the importance of hypoxia and compression by the extra cellular matrix (ECM) for primordial follicle maintenance in vivo.
在女性生殖中，卵子数量在出生后是有限的。为了实现连续的排卵周期，卵子储存在原始卵泡中。因此，原始卵泡休眠和激活的调节对生殖的可持续性很重要，其崩溃会导致卵巢早衰。在这篇综述中，我们总结了小鼠原始卵泡的发育以及维持和激活原始卵泡的分子机制。我们还概述了通过体外培养功能性卵子发现的机制，包括环境因素诱导原始卵泡形成的机制，这揭示了缺氧和细胞外基质（ECM）对体内原始卵泡维持的重要性。
