Granulosa cell-germ cell relationship in the developing rabbit ovary.

Granulosa cells play an important part in the nutrition of the oocyte during oogenesis (Raven, 1961). Anderson & Beams (1960) suggested that, in the primary follicle, nutritive material synthesized by the granulosa cells reaches the oocyte by diffusion across the zona pellucida. In the rabbit, follicle formation and elaboration of the zona pellucida begin at the end of the second week after birth (Gondos & Zamboni, 1967). Prior to this time germ cells and granulosa cells are clustered together within the ovarian cortex. Although participation of the granulosa cells in zona pellucida formation has been described in detail (Merker, 1961), the function of granulosa cells in the earlier stages of oogenesis is unclear. The following is an electron microscope study of the relationship between granulosa cells and germ cells in the prefollicular rabbit ovary.