Skip Navigation


Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on November 22, 2007
Human Reproduction 2008 23(2):394-402; doi:10.1093/humrep/dem373
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
23/2/394    most recent
dem373v1
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 arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gook, D. A.
Right arrow Articles by Martic, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Gook, D. A.
Right arrow Articles by Martic, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. 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@oxfordjournals.org

Detection of zona pellucida proteins during human folliculogenesis

Debra A. Gook1,2,3,4, D.H. Edgar1,2,3, J. Borg1,2 and M. Martic2

1 Reproductive Services, Royal Women’s Hospital, 132 Grattan Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia 2 Melbourne IVF, 320 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, Victoria 3002, Australia 3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

4 Correspondence address. Reproductive Services, Royal Women’s Hospital, 132 Grattan Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia. E-mail: debra.gook{at}rwh.org.au

BACKGROUND: The stage of folliculogenesis at which the human zona pellucida (ZP) is initiated and the cells responsible for the origin of the ZP continue to be controversial. This study characterizes the development of the ZP during human folliculogenesis using ovarian samples donated from patients requesting ovarian storage.

METHODS: Follicles (from n = 18 patients, 14–40 years old) within fresh tissue and following development in a xenograft system were stained, using immunohistochemical techniques, for the presence of the three human ZP proteins, ZP1, ZP2 and ZP3. Over 500 primordial follicles and >20 follicles at each developmental stage were examined.

RESULTS: All three ZP proteins were detected within the oocyte of the primordial follicle. Presence of ZP1 and ZP3 was observed in the majority of primordial oocytes (93% and 95%, respectively), whereas ZP2 was detected in only 32% of these follicles. The three ZP proteins were detected in the cytoplasm of cuboidal granulosa cells and their distribution correlates with developmental stages throughout folliculogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: ZP proteins were detected in both the oocyte and the granulosa cells as early as the primordial follicle stage in the human. The detection of ZP proteins in the quiescent primordial follicle suggests that these proteins have been present since oogenesis.

Key words: zona pellucida/human follicles/immunohistochemistry/oocyte/granulosa cells

Submitted on March 2, 2007; resubmitted on October 19, 2007; accepted on October 24, 2007.


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
 Hum ReprodHome page
V. Keros, S. Xella, K. Hultenby, K. Pettersson, M. Sheikhi, A. Volpe, J. Hreinsson, and O. Hovatta
Vitrification versus controlled-rate freezing in cryopreservation of human ovarian tissue
Hum. Reprod., July 1, 2009; 24(7): 1670 - 1683.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
P. A. Fowler, S. Flannigan, A. Mathers, K. Gillanders, R. G. Lea, M. J. Wood, A. Maheshwari, S. Bhattacharya, E. S. R. Collie-Duguid, P. J. Baker, et al.
Gene Expression Analysis of Human Fetal Ovarian Primordial Follicle Formation
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., April 1, 2009; 94(4): 1427 - 1435.
[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.