Sir, In a recent article, Tremellen and Savulescu (2014) ‘argue in support of screening the general population for diminished ovarian reserve (OR)’. They state that OR ‘is determined by the net result of the initial size of the primordial follicle endowment, the natural rate of atretic loss and the impact of any insult that may hasten follicle depletion’. However, OR is not defined, nor do they...

Mammalian females enter puberty with follicular reserves that exceed the number needed for ovulation during a single lifetime. Follicular depletion occurs throughout reproductive life and ends in menopause, or reproductive senescence, when the follicle pool is exhausted. The mechanisms regulating the production of a species-specific initial follicle pool are not well understood. However, the es...

STUDY QUESTION Can Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a ceramide-induced death pathway inhibitor, prevent cyclophosphamide (Cy) or doxorubicin (Doxo) induced apoptotic follicle death in human ovarian xenografts? SUMMARY ANSWER S1P can block human apoptotic follicle death induced by both drugs, which have differing mechanisms of cytotoxicity. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY S1P has been shown to decrease ...

BACKGROUND Vitrification is the standard method for cryopreserving human oocytes and embryos, but its effects on ovarian tissue are uncertain. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to compare the proportion of intact primordial follicles in ovarian tissue cryopreserved with vitrification versus slow freezing. METHODS Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases were searched until ...

www.landesbioscience.com Cell Cycle 3245 The ovarian follicle reserve is maintained in a delicate state of homeostasis aimed at preserving the majority of follicles in a dormant state. Key regulatory factors in follicle activation and quiescence include the PI3K/PTEN/Akt signaling pathway in the oocyte, as well as external paracrine inhibitory factors such as antiMullerian hormone (AMH) (Fig. 1...

BACKGROUND The insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (Pi3k), protein kinase B (Akt1), Forkhead Box O3a (FOXO3a) pathway is directly involved in aging and ovarian activation of follicle growth. Therefore, the aim of this work was to measure the expression of genes related to the ovarian pathway for activation of primordial follicles and FOXO3a protein phosphorylation bet...

Background: Previous studies have reported the antifertility activities of sulfonamides. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of co-trimoxazole and its co-administration with folic acid on ovarian tissue in female rats.Methods: A total of 54 rats were randomly divided into 9 groups (n=6). Group I served as the control and group II (vehicle) received saline. Other groups, III to IX, r...

BACKGROUND Human primordial follicles (PFs) or the oocyte-pre-granulosa complex, constitute the earliest and most immature stage of human oogenesis. The factors, signalling networks and the precise role of the oocyte and the pre-granulosa cells in initiating growth and recruitment from this finite resting pool remain largely unknown at present. METHODS To obtain a gene resource of this oogene...