Skip Navigation


Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on February 25, 2005
Human Reproduction 2005 20(6):1466-1476; doi:10.1093/humrep/deh800
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
20/6/1466    most recent
deh800v2
deh800v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (15)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Stoop, H.
Right arrow Articles by Looijenga, L.H.J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Stoop, H.
Right arrow Articles by Looijenga, L.H.J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions{at}oupjournals.org

Differentiation and development of human female germ cells during prenatal gonadogenesis: an immunohistochemical study

H. Stoop1,*, F. Honecker1,2,*, M. Cools1, R. de Krijger1, C. Bokemeyer2 and L.H.J. Looijenga1,3

1 Department of Pathology, Josephine Nefkens Institute, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center Rotterdam, Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands and 2 Department of Hematology/Oncology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

3 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Department of Pathology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center Rotterdam, Josephine Nefkens Institute, Room 430b, P.O.Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Email: l.looijenga{at}erasmusmc.nl

BACKGROUND: In the development of the human ovary, the second trimester includes the transition from oogonial replication to primordial follicle formation. The present study was carried out to assess differentiation and proliferation of germ cells in a series of female gonads from 19 fetuses from the second and third trimester, and two neonates. METHODS: Using immunohistochemistry, the following markers were studied: placental/germ-like cell alkaline phosphatases (PLAP), the marker of pluripotency OCT3/4, the proliferation marker Ki-67, {beta}-catenin and E-cadherin, the stem cell factor receptor c-KIT, and VASA, a protein specific for the germ cell lineage. RESULTS: PLAP and OCT3/4 were seen during oogenesis, but not in germ cells engaged in folliculogenesis. A similar pattern was observed for Ki-67. Loss of pluripotency occurs once oocytes engage in follicle formation, suggesting a role of cell–cell interactions in the process of germ cell maturation. VASA, c-KIT, {beta}-catenin and E-cadherin were found in germ cells at all developmental stages of oogenesis and folliculogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: Immunohistochemically, two groups of germ cells can be distinguished. Germ cells that are predominantly found in the cortical region of the ovary before weeks 22–24 of gestation, showing an immature phenotype, are mitotically active, and express OCT3/4, a marker of pluripotency. On the other hand, germ cells undergoing folliculogenesis have lost their pluripotent potential and no longer proliferate.

Key words: differentiation/fetal ovary/germ cells/immunohistochemistry/proliferation

*Stoop and Honecker contributed equally to the work.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Mol Hum ReprodHome page
A. J. Childs, P. T.K. Saunders, and R. A. Anderson
Modelling germ cell development in vitro
Mol. Hum. Reprod., September 1, 2008; 14(9): 501 - 511.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
M. S. Albamonte, M. A. Willis, M. I. Albamonte, F. Jensen, M. B. Espinosa, and A. D. Vitullo
The developing human ovary: immunohistochemical analysis of germ-cell-specific VASA protein, BCL-2/BAX expression balance and apoptosis
Hum. Reprod., August 1, 2008; 23(8): 1895 - 1901.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
D. M. Kristensen, J. E. Nielsen, N. E. Skakkebaek, N. Graem, G. K. Jacobsen, E. R.-D. Meyts, and H. Leffers
Presumed pluripotency markers UTF-1 and REX-1 are expressed in human adult testes and germ cell neoplasms
Hum. Reprod., April 1, 2008; 23(4): 775 - 782.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
C. L. Kerr, C. M. Hill, P. D. Blumenthal, and J. D. Gearhart
Expression of pluripotent stem cell markers in the human fetal ovary
Hum. Reprod., March 1, 2008; 23(3): 589 - 599.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 EndocrinologyHome page
D. Ferrara, N. Hallmark, H. Scott, R. Brown, C. McKinnell, I. K. Mahood, and R. M. Sharpe
Acute and Long-Term Effects of in Utero Exposure of Rats to Di(n-Butyl) Phthalate on Testicular Germ Cell Development and Proliferation
Endocrinology, November 1, 2006; 147(11): 5352 - 5362.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Biol. Reprod.Home page
K. J. Hutt, E. A. McLaughlin, and M. K. Holland
KIT/KIT Ligand in Mammalian Oogenesis and Folliculogenesis: Roles in Rabbit and Murine Ovarian Follicle Activation and Oocyte Growth
Biol Reprod, September 1, 2006; 75(3): 421 - 433.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Endocr. Rev.Home page
M. Cools, S. L. S. Drop, K. P. Wolffenbuttel, J. W. Oosterhuis, and L. H. J. Looijenga
Germ Cell Tumors in the Intersex Gonad: Old Paths, New Directions, Moving Frontiers
Endocr. Rev., August 1, 2006; 27(5): 468 - 484.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
M. Cools, H. Stoop, A.-M. F. Kersemaekers, S. L. S. Drop, K. P. Wolffenbuttel, J.-P. Bourguignon, J. Slowikowska-Hilczer, K. Kula, S. M. H. Faradz, J. W. Oosterhuis, et al.
Gonadoblastoma Arising in Undifferentiated Gonadal Tissue within Dysgenetic Gonads
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., June 1, 2006; 91(6): 2404 - 2413.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol Hum ReprodHome page
K.J. Hutt, E.A. McLaughlin, and M.K. Holland
Kit ligand and c-Kit have diverse roles during mammalian oogenesis and folliculogenesis
Mol. Hum. Reprod., February 1, 2006; 12(2): 61 - 69.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.