Premature ovarian failure (POF) is an ovarian defect characterized by the premature depletion of ovarian follicles before 40 years of age, representing one major cause of female infertility. Stem cells provide the possibility of a potential treatment for POF. In this study, rat embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were co-cultured with granulosa cells (GCs) to ...

BACKGROUND Spontaneous dizygotic (DZ) twinning in humans is under genetic control. In sheep, heterozygous loss of function mutations in bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) increase ovulation and hence twinning rates. METHODS To investigate the role of BMP15 in human twinning, we typed 14 common variants, 4 rare novel variants initially detected by sequencing 279 mothers of DZ twins (MODZT) ...

Regulation of mammalian follicular development is tightly regulated by both cell death and survival signals, including endocrine (e.g. gonadotropin) and intra-ovarian regulators (e.g. Nodal and GDF9). The destiny of the individual follicle (growth/ovulation or atresia) is dependent on a delicate balance in the expression and action of factors promoting follicular cell proliferation, growth and ...

Paracrine factor signaling regulates many aspects of vertebrate gonadal development. We investigated key ovarian and testicular morphological markers of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) during the first 5 months post-hatching and correlated gonadal development with mRNA expression levels of a suite of regulatory factors. In both sexes, we observed significant morphology chang...

BACKGROUND Improving human nuclear transfer (NT) efficiencies is paramount for the development of patient-specific stem cell lines, although the opportunities remain limited owing to difficulties in obtaining fresh mature oocytes. METHODS Therefore, the developmental competence of aged, failed-to-fertilize human oocytes as an alternate cytoplasmic source for NT was assessed and compared with ...

Reports have shown that murine embryonic stem cells (mESC) can differentiate into primordial germ cells (PGC) and then to early gametes (oocytes and sperm) that after fertilization form blastocysts. Preliminary studies indicated that hESC also have the potential to differentiate into germ cells. Currently, there are no reports on directed differentiation of hESCs into oocytes. Here, we investig...

Abstract Background Growth differentiation factor 9 ( GDF9 ) and bone morphogenetic protein 15 BMP15 genes play important roles in folliculogenesis. Altered expression of the two have been found among patients with poor ovarian response (POR). In this prospective cohort study, we determined follicle fluid (FF) granulosa cells (GCs) derived from responders grouped by age, explored its correlatio...