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Mechanisms controlling germline cyst breakdown and primordial follicle formation

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An Erratum to this article was published on 18 March 2017

Abstract

In fetal females, oogonia proliferate immediately after sex determination. The progress of mitosis in oogonia proceeds so rapidly that the incompletely divided cytoplasm of the sister cells forms cysts. The oogonia will then initiate meiosis and arrest at the diplotene stage of meiosis I, becoming oocytes. Within each germline cyst, oocytes with Balbiani bodies will survive after cyst breakdown (CBD). After CBD, each oocyte is enclosed by pre-granulosa cells to form a primordial follicle (PF). Notably, the PF pool formed perinatally will be the sole lifelong oocyte source of a female. Thus, elucidating the mechanisms of CBD and PF formation is not only meaningful for solving mysteries related to ovarian development but also contributes to the preservation of reproduction. However, the mechanisms that regulate these phenomena are largely unknown. This review summarizes the progress of cellular and molecular research on these processes in mice and humans.

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Abbreviations

PF:

Primordial follicle

CBD:

Cyst breakdown

POI:

Primary ovarian insufficiency

POF:

Premature ovarian failure

MOF:

Multi-oocyte follicle

JNK:

c-Jun amino-terminal kinase

mTORC1:

Mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1

PI3K:

Phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase

PGCs:

Primordial germ cells

Dpc:

Day post coitus

Wpc:

Week post conception

FOXL2:

Forkhead box L2

WNT4:

Canonical wingless-type MMTV integration site family member 4

RA:

Retinoic acid

RARs:

RA receptors

RXRs:

Retinoid X receptors

RALDHs:

Retinaldehyde dehydrogenases

Act:

Activin

TGF:

Transforming growth factor

DSBs:

DNA double-strand breaks

PAR6:

Partitioning-defective Protein 6

AJs:

Adherens junctions

Cads:

Cadherins

GJs:

Gap junctions

NICD:

Notch intercellular domain

ADAM10:

A disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain10

Bax:

Bcl2-associated X protein

Casp2:

Caspase 2

FSH:

Follicle-stimulating hormone

PCD:

Programmed cell death

SOHLH2:

Spermatogenesis- and oogenesis-specific helix-loop-helix transcription factor 2

AQP8:

Water channel aquaporin-8

Fst:

Follistatin

Inh:

Inhibin

LGR5:

Leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 5

Bcl-2:

B-cell lymphoma 2

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  1. State Key Laboratory for Agro-Biotechnology, College of Biological Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China

    Chao Wang, Bo Zhou & Guoliang Xia

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An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00018-017-2499-8.

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Wang, C., Zhou, B. & Xia, G. Mechanisms controlling germline cyst breakdown and primordial follicle formation. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 74, 2547–2566 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-017-2480-6

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