Purpose To understand the mechanism of premature ovarian failure (POF). Methods The ultrastructural (electron microscopy) analysis of primordial ovarian follicles in Nobox deficient mice. Results We studied, for the first time, the fate of oogonia in embryonic (prenatal) mouse ovaries and showed that the abolishment of the transition from germ cell cysts to primordial follicles in the ovaries of Nobox deficient mice is caused by defects in germ cell cyst breakdown, leading to the formation of syncytial follicles instead of primordial follicles. Conclusions These results indicate that POF syndrome in Nobox deficient mice results from the faulty signaling between somatic and germ line components during embryonic development. In addition, the extremely unusual and abnormal presence of adherens junctions between unseparated oocytes within syncytial follicles indicates that faulty communication between somatic and germ cells is involved in, or leads to, abnormalities in the cell adhesion program.
The ovaries of early embryos (40 days after fertilization) of the bat Carollia perspicillata contain numerous germ-line cysts, which are composed of 10 to 12 sister germ cells (cystocytes). The variability in the number of cystocytes within the cyst and between the cysts (that defies the Giardina rule) indicates that the mitotic divisions of the cystoblast are asynchronous in this bat species. The serial section analysis showed that the cystocytes are interconnected via intercellular bridges that are atypical, strongly elongated, short-lived, and rich in microtubule bundles and microfilaments. During the later stages of embryonic development (44–46 days after fertilization), the somatic cells penetrate the cyst, and their cytoplasmic projections separate individual oocytes. Separated oocytes surrounded by the single layer of somatic cells constitute the primordial ovarian follicles. The oocytes of C. perspicillata are similar to mouse oocytes and are asymmetric. In both species, this asymmetry is clearly recognizable in the localization of the Golgi complexes. The presence of germ-line cysts and intercellular bridges (although non-canonical) in the fetal ovaries of C. perspicillata indicate that the formation of germ-line cysts is an evolutionarily conserved phase in the development of the female gametes throughout the animal kingdom.
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