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Parte S, Patel H, Sriraman K, Bhartiya D. Isolation and characterization of stem cells in the adult mammalian ovary. Methods Mol Biol 2015; 1235:203-29. [PMID: 25388396 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-1785-3_16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Female mammals are born with a fixed pool of germ cells, which does not replenish during adult life. However, this has been recently challenged and adult ovaries produce oocytes throughout adult life just like sperm in the testes. Evidence is accumulating on the presence of ovarian stem cells, but the need for robust protocols to isolate, identify, further characterize, and subject them to various functionality tests is essential. Knowledge about the function and potential of ovarian stem cells is well demonstrated by various groups, but their true identity remains elusive because of the variability in the approaches used to identify them by different groups. In order to address this we have made attempts to compile our protocols to isolate, identify, characterize, and culture the stem cells using different animal models including human. Two distinct populations of stem cells exist in adult mammalian ovary, including very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) and the progenitors termed ovarian germ stem cells (OGSCs). VSELs are relatively quiescent and undergo asymmetric cell division to give rise to OGSCs, which divide rapidly, occasionally form germ cell nests and undergo meiosis and differentiation into oocytes, which are surrounded by granulosa cells to assemble as primordial follicles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seema Parte
- Stem Cell Biology Department, National Institute for Research and Reproductive Health (ICMR), Jehangir Merwanji Street, Parel, Mumbai, 400 012, India
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102
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Hartung O, Forbes MM, Marlow FL. Zebrafish vasa is required for germ-cell differentiation and maintenance. Mol Reprod Dev 2014; 81:946-61. [PMID: 25257909 PMCID: PMC4198436 DOI: 10.1002/mrd.22414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2014] [Accepted: 08/14/2014] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Vasa is a universal marker of the germ line in animals, yet mutations disrupting vasa cause sexually dimorphic infertility, with impaired development of the ovary in some animals and the testis in others. The basis for this sexually dimorphic requirement for Vasa is not clear; in most animals examined, both the male and female gonad express vasa throughout the life of the germ line. Here we characterized a loss-of-function mutation disrupting zebrafish vasa. We show that maternally provided Vasa is stable through the first ten days of development in zebrafish, and thus likely fulfills any early roles for Vasa during germ-line specification, migration, survival, and maintenance. Although zygotic Vasa is not essential for the development of juvenile gonads, vasa mutants develop exclusively as sterile males. Furthermore, phenotypes of vasa;p53 compound mutants are indistinguishable from those of vasa mutants, therefore the failure of vasa mutants to differentiate as females and to support germ-cell development in the testis is not due to p53-mediated apoptosis. Instead, we found that failure to progress beyond the pachytene stage of meiosis causes the loss of germ-line stem cells, leaving empty somatic tubules. Our studies provide insight into the function of zebrafish vasa during female meiosis, differentiation, and maintenance of germ-line stem cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Odelya Hartung
- Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Yeshiva University. Bronx, NY (USA)
| | - Meredyth M. Forbes
- Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Yeshiva University. Bronx, NY (USA)
| | - Florence L. Marlow
- Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Yeshiva University. Bronx, NY (USA)
- Department of Neuroscience. Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Yeshiva University. Bronx, NY (USA)
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103
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Bhartiya D, Singh J. FSH-FSHR3-stem cells in ovary surface epithelium: basis for adult ovarian biology, failure, aging, and cancer. Reproduction 2014; 149:R35-48. [PMID: 25269615 DOI: 10.1530/rep-14-0220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Despite extensive research, genetic basis of premature ovarian failure (POF) and ovarian cancer still remains elusive. It is indeed paradoxical that scientists searched for mutations in FSH receptor (FSHR) expressed on granulosa cells, whereas more than 90% of cancers arise in ovary surface epithelium (OSE). Two distinct populations of stem cells including very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) and ovarian stem cells (OSCs) exist in OSE, are responsible for neo-oogenesis and primordial follicle assembly in adult life, and are modulated by FSH via its alternatively spliced receptor variant FSHR3 (growth factor type 1 receptor acting via calcium signaling and the ERK/MAPK pathway). Any defect in FSH-FSHR3-stem cell interaction in OSE may affect folliculogenesis and thus result in POF. Ovarian aging is associated with a compromised microenvironment that does not support stem cell differentiation into oocytes and further folliculogenesis. FSH exerts a mitogenic effect on OSE and elevated FSH levels associated with advanced age may provide a continuous trigger for stem cells to proliferate resulting in cancer, thus supporting gonadotropin theory for ovarian cancer. Present review is an attempt to put adult ovarian biology, POF, aging, and cancer in the perspective of FSH-FSHR3-stem cell network that functions in OSE. This hypothesis is further supported by the recent understanding that: i) cancer is a stem cell disease and OSE is the niche for ovarian cancer stem cells; ii) ovarian OCT4-positive stem cells are regulated by FSH; and iii) OCT4 along with LIN28 and BMP4 are highly expressed in ovarian cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepa Bhartiya
- Stem Cell Biology DepartmentNational Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (ICMR), Mumbai 400 012, India
| | - Jarnail Singh
- Stem Cell Biology DepartmentNational Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (ICMR), Mumbai 400 012, India
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104
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Park ES, Tilly JL. Use of DEAD-box polypeptide-4 (Ddx4) gene promoter-driven fluorescent reporter mice to identify mitotically active germ cells in post-natal mouse ovaries. Mol Hum Reprod 2014; 21:58-65. [PMID: 25147160 DOI: 10.1093/molehr/gau071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Several laboratories have independently isolated mitotically active germ cells, termed female germline stem cells or oogonial stem cells (OSCs), from adult mouse ovaries. However, a recent study using Ddx4-Cre;Rosa26 reporter mice concluded that such germ cells do not exist. Given the disparity in conclusions drawn in this study compared with others, we felt it was important to re-assess the utility of Ddx4-Cre;Rosa26 reporter mice for identification of OSCs in adult mouse ovaries. Transgenic Ddx4-Cre mice were crossed with Rosa26(tdTm/tdTm) mice to drive restricted tomato red (tdTm) gene expression in cells in which the Ddx4 gene promoter has been activated. Crude dispersion of ovaries from recombined offspring generated cell fractions containing tdTm-positive immature oocytes, which are incapable of proliferation and thus probably represent the uncharacterized reporter-positive ovarian cells identified in the paper Zhang et al. (2012) as being mitotically inactive. Dispersed ovaries further subjected to fluorescence-activated cell sorting yielded a large population of non-germline tdTm-positive cells, indicative of promoter 'leakiness' in the Ddx4-Cre mouse line. Nonetheless, a small percentage of these tdTm-positive cells exhibited externalized (extracellular, ec) expression of Ddx4 protein (ecDdx4-positive), expressed markers of primitive germ cells but not of oocytes, and actively proliferated in culture, all of which are characteristic features of OSCs. Thus, crude dispersion of ovaries collected from Ddx4 gene promoter-driven reporter mice is not, by itself, a reliable approach to identify OSCs, whereas the same ovarian dispersates further subjected to cell sorting strategies yield purified OSCs that can be expanded in culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun-Sil Park
- Department of Biology, Laboratory of Aging and Infertility Research, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jonathan L Tilly
- Department of Biology, Laboratory of Aging and Infertility Research, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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105
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Gheorghisan-Galateanu AA, Hinescu ME, Enciu AM. Ovarian adult stem cells: hope or pitfall? J Ovarian Res 2014; 7:71. [PMID: 25018783 PMCID: PMC4094411 DOI: 10.1186/1757-2215-7-71] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2014] [Accepted: 06/29/2014] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
For many years, ovarian biology has been based on the dogma that oocytes reserve in female mammals included a finite number, established before or at birth and it is determined by the number and quality of primordial follicles developed during the neonatal period. The restricted supply of oocytes in adult female mammals has been disputed in recent years by supporters of postnatal neo-oogenesis. Recent experimental data showed that ovarian surface epithelium and cortical tissue from both mouse and human were proved to contain very low proportion of cells able to propagate themselves, but also to generate immature oocytes in vitro or in vivo, when transplanted into immunodeficient mice ovaries. By mentioning several landmarks of ovarian stem cell reserve and addressing the exciting perspective of translation into clinical practice as treatment for infertility pathologies, the purpose of this article is to review the knowledge about adult mammalian ovarian stem cells, a topic that, since the first approach quickly attracted the attention of both the scientific media and patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ancuta Augustina Gheorghisan-Galateanu
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Eroii Sanitari Blvd., 050474 Bucharest, Romania ; C.I.Parhon National Institute of Endocrinology, 8 Eroii Sanitari Blvd., 050474 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Mihail Eugen Hinescu
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Eroii Sanitari Blvd., 050474 Bucharest, Romania ; V.Babes National Institute of Pathology, 8 Eroii Sanitari Blvd., 050474 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Ana Maria Enciu
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Eroii Sanitari Blvd., 050474 Bucharest, Romania ; V.Babes National Institute of Pathology, 8 Eroii Sanitari Blvd., 050474 Bucharest, Romania
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106
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Abstract
Chemo- and radiation therapies used to treat cancer can have the unintended effect of making patients infertile. Clinically established fertility preservation methods, such as egg and embryo cryopreservation, are not applicable to all patients, which has motivated the development of strategies that involve ovarian tissue removal and cryopreservation before the first sterilizing treatment. To restore fertility at a later date, the early-stage follicles present in the tissue must be matured to produce functional oocytes, a process that is not possible using existing cell culture technologies. This review describes the application of tissue engineering principles to promote ovarian follicle maturation and produce mature oocytes through either in vitro culture or transplantation. The design principles for these engineered systems are presented, along with identification of emerging opportunities in reproductive biology.
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107
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Pluripotent Very Small Embryonic-like Stem Cells in Adult Mammalian Gonads. STEM CELL BIOLOGY AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINE 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-1001-4_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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108
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Abstract
In women, ∼10% of cancers occur in those <45 years old. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and bone marrow transplantation can cure >90% of girls and young women with diseases that require such treatments. However, these treatments can result in premature ovarian failure, depending on the follicular reserve, the age of the patient and the type and dose of drugs used. This article discusses the different fertility preservation strategies: medical therapy before chemotherapy; ovarian transposition; embryo cryopreservation; oocyte vitrification; and ovarian tissue cryopreservation. The indications, results and risks of these options are discussed. Whether medical therapy should be used to protect the gonads during chemotherapy remains a source of debate. Fertility preservation needs to be completed before chemotherapy and/or irradiation is started and might take 2-3 weeks with established techniques such as embryo or oocyte cryopreservation. Further studies are needed in patients with cancer to confirm the excellent outcomes obtained in patients without cancer or in egg donation programmes. For prepubertal girls or cases where immediate therapy is required, cryopreservation of ovarian tissue is the only available option. Finally, possible future approaches are reviewed, including in vitro maturation of nonantral follicles, the artificial ovary, oogonial stem cells and drugs to prevent follicle loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacques Donnez
- Société de Recherche pour l'Infertilité, Avenue Grandchamp, 143, B-1150 Brussels, Belgium
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109
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Duke CMP, Taylor HS. Stem cells and the reproductive system: historical perspective and future directions. Maturitas 2013; 76:284-9. [PMID: 24144960 DOI: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2013.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2013] [Accepted: 08/29/2013] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Recent findings in stem cell biology have presented new perspectives and opportunities for the treatment of reproductive disease. In a departure from the long held dogma of embryologically fixed numbers of oocytes, current literature suggests that human ovaries contain stem cells which form new oocytes even in adulthood and that these stem cells can be cultured in vitro to develop into mature oocytes. These findings have provided new hope and broader options for fertility preservation. Evidence of endometrial regeneration by bone marrow stem cells in endometrial tissue of women who received bone marrow transplant highlight potential for the novel treatments of uterine disorders and supports new theories for the etiology of endometriosis - ectopic transdifferentiation of stem cells. Further, endometrial derived stem cells have been demonstrated to be useful in the treatment of several chronic and often debilitating diseases, including Parkinson's Disease and Diabetes. Other cells that may present future therapeutic benefits for a myriad of disease states include placental and fetal cells which enter maternal circulation during pregnancy and can later promote parenchymal regeneration in maternal tissue. These findings highlight novel functions of the uterus and ovaries. They demonstrate that the uterus is a dynamic organ permeable to fetal stem cells capable of transdifferentiation as well as a renewable source of multipotent stem cells. While we still have much to understand about stem cells, their potential applications in reproductive biology and medicine are countless.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cindy M P Duke
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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Park ES, Woods DC, Tilly JL. Bone morphogenetic protein 4 promotes mammalian oogonial stem cell differentiation via Smad1/5/8 signaling. Fertil Steril 2013; 100:1468-75. [PMID: 23993924 DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2013.07.1978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2013] [Revised: 07/18/2013] [Accepted: 07/18/2013] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To test whether bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) directly regulates differentiation of adult mouse ovary-derived oogonial stem cells (OSCs) in vitro. DESIGN Animal study. SETTING Research laboratory. ANIMAL(S) Adult C57BL/6 female mice. INTERVENTION(S) After purification from adult ovaries by fluorescence-activated cell sorting, OSCs were cultured without or with BMP4 in the absence or presence of the BMP4 antagonist, Noggin. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Rates of in vitro-derived (IVD) oocyte formation and changes in gene expression were assessed. RESULT(S) Cultured OSCs expressed BMP receptor (BMPR) 1A (BMPR1A), BMPR1B, and BMPR2, suggesting that BMP signaling can directly affect OSC function. In agreement with this, BMP4 significantly increased the number of IVD oocytes formed by cultured OSCs in a dose-dependent manner, and this response was inhibited in a dose-dependent fashion by cotreatment with Noggin. Exposure of OSCs to BMP4 was associated with rapid phosphorylation of BMPR-regulated Smad1/5/8 proteins, and this response was followed by increased expression of the meiosis initiation factors, stimulated by retinoic acid gene 8 (Stra8), muscle-segment homeobox 1 (Msx1), and Msx2. In keeping with the IVD oocyte formation data, the ability of BMP4 to activate Smad1/5/8 signaling and meiotic gene expression in OSCs was abolished by cotreatment with Noggin. CONCLUSION(S) Engagement of BMP4-mediated signaling in adult mouse ovary-derived OSCs cultured in vitro drives differentiation of these cells into IVD oocytes through Smad1/5/8 activation and transcriptional up-regulation of key meiosis-initiating genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun-Sil Park
- Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
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111
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Imudia AN, Wang N, Tanaka Y, White YAR, Woods DC, Tilly JL. Comparative gene expression profiling of adult mouse ovary-derived oogonial stem cells supports a distinct cellular identity. Fertil Steril 2013; 100:1451-8. [PMID: 23876535 DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2013.06.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2013] [Revised: 06/18/2013] [Accepted: 06/20/2013] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Perform gene expression profiling of adult mouse ovary-derived oogonial stem cells (OSCs). DESIGN Experimental animal study. SETTING Research laboratory. ANIMAL(S) Adult C57BL/6 female mice. INTERVENTION(S) None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Gene expression profiles were compared between freshly isolated and cultured OSCs, as well as between OSCs and embryonic stem cells (ESCs), fetal primordial germ cells (PGCs), and spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs); OSC yield from ovaries versus meiotic gene activation during the estrous cycle was determined. RESULT(S) Freshly isolated OSCs, PGCs, and SSCs exhibited distinct gene expression profiles. Cultured OSCs maintained their germline gene expression pattern but gained expression of pluripotency markers found in PGCs and ESCs. Cultured OSCs also expressed the meiotic marker, stimulated by retinoic acid gene 8 (Stra8). In vivo, OSC yield was higher from luteal versus follicular phase ovaries, and this was inversely related to Stra8 expression. CONCLUSION(S) Freshly isolated OSCs exhibit a germline gene expression profile that overlaps with, but is distinct from, that of PGCs and SSCs. After in vitro expansion, OSCs activate expression of pluripotency genes found in freshly isolated PGCs. In vivo, OSC numbers in the ovaries fluctuate during the estrous cycle, with the highest numbers noted during the luteal phase. This is followed by activation of Stra8 expression during the follicular phase, which may signify a wave of neo-oogenesis to partially offset follicular loss through atresia and ovulation in the prior cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony N Imudia
- Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
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