Follicle assembly is the process by which groups or "nests" of oocytes break down to form primordial follicles. The size of the primordial follicle pool is the major determinant of the reproductive lifespan of a female. Previously, progesterone (P(4)) has been shown to inhibit follicle assembly, while tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) has been shown to promote the apoptosis that is necessa...

Follicle assembly is the process by which groups or ‘nests’ of oocytes break down to form primordial follicles. The size of the primordial follicle pool is the major determinant of the reproductive lifespan of a female. Previously, progesterone (P4) has been shown to inhibit follicle assembly, while tumor necrosis factor-a (TNFa) has been shown to promote the apoptosis that is necessary for fol...

Progression of preantral follicle development is essential to further follicle maturation and ovulation, but there are few models for studying the regulation of preantral follicle survival and growth. We have evaluated preantral follicle survival in vivo and in vitro, and have developed a serum-free rat follicle culture system that can be used to characterize the regulation of preantral follicl...

14 day-old mouse ovarian tissue and preantral follicles isolated from same-aged mice were incubated in a simulated microgravity culture system. We quantitatively assessed follicle survival, measured follicle and oocyte diameters, and examined ultrastructure of the oocytes produced from the system. We observed decreased follicle survival, downregulation of expressions of proliferating cell nucle...

The ability of an oocyte to successfully mature is highly dependent on intrafollicular conditions, including the size and structure of the follicle. Here we present a mathematical model of oxygen transport in the antral follicle. We relate mean oxygen concentration in follicular fluid of bovine follicles to the concentration in the immediate vicinity of the cumulus-oocyte complex (COC). The mod...

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a cytokine that induces angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is a prominent histologic component of the luteinization process. Luteinization is also characterized by granulosa cell progesterone secretion in response to the luteinizing hormone (LH) surge. Local VEGF production in human pre-ovulatory follicles, induced by LH, was postulated to be a luteinization...

Although ecdysteroid signaling regulates multiple steps in oogenesis, it is not known whether it regulates Drosophila ovulation, a process involving a matrix metalloproteinase-dependent follicle rupture. In this study, we demonstrated that ecdysteroid signaling is operating in mature follicle cells to control ovulation. Moreover, knocking down shade (shd), encoding the monooxygenase that conver...

The primordial follicle assembly, activation and the subsequent development are critical processes for female reproduction. A limited number of primordial follicles are activated to enter the growing follicle pool each wave, and the primordial follicle pool progressively diminishes over a woman's life-time. The number of remaining primordial follicles represents the ovarian reserve. Identificat...

Objectives To assess the relationship between dental follicle width and maxillary impacted canines' descriptive and resorptive features with three-dimensional (3D) cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Methods The study comprised 102 patients with cone-beam computed tomography 3D images and a total of 140 impacted canines. The association between maxillary impacted canine dental follicle widt...

The establishment of the anterior-posterior (AP) axis in Drosophila melanogaster requires signaling between the oocyte and surrounding somatic follicle cells during oogenesis [1] [2]. First, a signal from the oocyte (Gurken (Grk), a transforming growth factor-alpha (TGFalpha) homolog) is received by predetermined terminal follicle cells in which the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathw...