Anti-müllerian hormone (AmH) or müllerian inhibiting substance (mIS), is a dimeric protein part of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta subfamily. It plays two important roles in follicle genesis. First, it delays entrance of primordial follicle into pool of follicles in growth and secondly, it decreases the sensitivity of ovarian follicle toward follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). The ova...

Primordial follicle assembly is a process that occurs when oocyte nests break down to form individual primordial follicles. The size of this initial pool of primordial follicles in part determines the reproductive lifespan of the female. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) was identified as a potential regulatory candidate for this process in a previous microarray analysis of follicle develo...

Regulation of ovarian activity is an integrated process encompassing both extraovarian signals and intrafollicular factors. Initiation of primordial follicle growth and the early stages of folliculogenesis can occur without gonadotropins, but FSH may affect the rate of preantral follicle growth. Antral follicle development from 1 to 4 mm in sheep and cattle is completely gonadotropin dependent....

Cows induced to ovulate small dominant follicles were reported to have reduced pregnancy rates compared with cows that ovulated large follicles. The reason for the presence of small dominant follicles at the time of GnRH-induced ovulation in timed AI protocols is unknown. The objectives of this experiment were to examine the role of day of the estrous cycle at initiation of treatment on ovulati...

Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is key for normal epidermal morphogenesis, but little is known about its role in hair follicle stem cells and epidermal regeneration. Hair follicle stem cells are important contributors to newly formed epidermis following injury. We inactivated the Ilk gene in the keratin 15--expressing stem cell population of the mouse hair follicle bulge. Loss of ILK expression in...

A key initial event in hair follicle morphogenesis is the localised thickening of the skin epithelium to form a placode, partitioning future hair follicle epithelium from interfollicular epidermis. Although many developmental signalling pathways are implicated in follicle morphogenesis, the role of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and keratinocyte growth factor (KGF, also known as FGF7) receptors ...

In this short review, I introduce an integrated vision of human hair follicle behavior and describe opposing influences that control hair follicle homeostasis, from morphogenesis to hair cycling. The interdependence and complementary roles of these influences allow us to propose that the hair follicle is a true paradigm of a "Yin Yang" type, that is a cold/slow-hot/fast duality. Moreover, a new...

The hair follicle dermal papilla (DP) contains a unique prominin-1/CD133-positive (CD133+) cell subpopulation, which has been shown to possess hair follicle-inducing capability. By assaying for endogenous CD133 expression and performing lineage tracing using CD133-CreERT2; ZsGreen1 reporter mice, we find that CD133 is expressed in a subpopulation of DP cells during the growth phase of the murin...

BACKGROUND Ovarian tissue cryopreservation is an emerging fertility preservation option, and culturing follicles isolated from this tissue to obtain mature gametes may ultimately be the best solution for patients for whom transplantation is contraindicated. It is unclear, however, how patient-specific variables (including age, weight and menstrual cycle stage) impact follicle growth and quality...

BACKGROUND This study tested factors affecting mouse follicle growth in vitro, to determine end-points marking follicle function in vitro. METHODS Pre-antral follicles (mean 137 microm) from B6CBF1 mice were cultured in a substrate-adherent system for < or = 14 days. FSH (0-1000 mIU/ml) day of HCG (1.5 IU/ml days 9-14) protein supplement [fetal calf serum (FCS) (x2) mouse serum (x2) hypogonad...