The role of intra-ovarian interactions in the regulation of follicle dominance

The processes that precisely control the selection of ovulatory follicles from a growing cohort are poorly understood. This reduction in follicle number occurs through several phases of selection, consequently we limit the use of the term 'selection' to the first major reduction of growing follicles, at the pre- to early antral stage. The final process of selection, achieving the appropriate ovulatory number, is referred to as 'dominance'. We discuss possible mechanisms that could bring about these reductions and highlight intra-ovarian involvement, particularly via follicle-follicle interactions. Analogies are drawn between local ovarian events and processes commonly reported in the determination of cell fate in developmental biology. Two facets of intra-follicular interactions are proposed: initially that follicle-follicle interactions mediate early selection processes at the preantral stage, and later that during antral development dominant follicles directly affect the fate of the subordinate cohort members.