Summary
This study describes the effects of acute X-irradiation of the ovaries upon the structure of primordial follicles in mature rhesus monkeys. Doses of 1000 r to 12000 r, and post-irradiation intervals of 7 hours to 30 days were used. Oocytes in biopsies from irradiated ovaries were compared with those removed from the same ovaries prior to treatment or from contra-lateral controls. The results of the treatment were assessed using light and electron microscopy.
The fine structural features of normal primordial oocytes are described, with particular reference to mitochondria and dense granular bodies. Some observations on spontaneous degenerative changes are included.
Irradiated ovaries are classified into four arbitrary groups according to the severity of cellular damage visible in primordial follicles with the light microscope. Effects are more marked following higher doses and/or longer intervals; the most obvious changes are pyknosis of nuclei and accumulation of dense granules in the follicle cell cytoplasm. Early changes in oocytes are relatively difficult to detect, but lead to clumping of cytoplasmic and nuclear contents at more advanced stages of degeneration. Alterations in oocyte fine structure consist mainly in swelling and disruption of membrane-bound organelles, and condensation of nuclear and nucleolar chromatin. They thus resemble those occurring during spontaneous atresia, although the damage to follicle cells is evident much sooner after irradiation.
These findings are compared with those made for species in which primordial follicles are known to be destroyed by much lower doses of X-rays than were used here. The contribution to the radiation-response made by the relative radiosensitivities of oocytes and follicle cells in different species is discussed.
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This study was supported by grants to Lord Zuckerman, O. M., K. C. B., F. R. S., by the Medical Research Council and the Ford Foundation, and to Dr. H. M. Beaumont by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission (Contract no. AT (30-1) 3846). We are indebted to the Medical Research Council for the provision of the electron microscopes and to the Nuffield Foundation for the X-ray apparatus. Our thanks are due to Dr. H. M. Beaumont for her advice during the preparation of the manuscript.
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Baker, T.G., Franchi, L.L. Electron microscope studies of radiation-induced degeneration in oocytes of the sexually mature rhesus monkey. Z.Zellforsch 133, 435–454 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00307127
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00307127