Premium
Immunohistochemical Studies of the Adult Human Ovary: Possible Contribution of Immune and Epithelial Factors to Folliculogenesis
Author(s) -
BuKOVSKý ANTONÍN,
KEENAN JEFFREY A.,
CAUDLE MICHAEL R.,
WIMALASENA JAY,
UPADHYAYA NIRMALA B.,
METER STUART E.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
american journal of reproductive immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.071
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1600-0897
pISSN - 1046-7408
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0897.1995.tb00901.x
Subject(s) - biology , epithelium , ovarian cortex , folliculogenesis , microbiology and biotechnology , ovary , major histocompatibility complex , cytokeratin , antral follicle , ovarian follicle , cd68 , immunohistochemistry , immune system , endocrinology , immunology , embryo , embryogenesis , genetics , ovarian tissue
PROBLEM : Formation of primordial follicles in adult ovaries could be a cryptic process limited to relatively small areas of the ovarian cortex and occurring during a certain stage of the menstrual cycle. Such an event may require a specific milieu provided by factors involved in developmental processes, i.e., morphoregulatory molecules and macrophages. METHOD : Adult human ovaries were investigated by immunohistochemistry for surface epithelium and granulosa cell markers (cytokeratin 18 and MHC class I), immune system‐related morphoregulatory molecules (Thy‐1 glycoprotein and N‐CAM), and macrophage phenotypes (CD14, CD68, and MHC class II). RESULTS : In some ovaries 300–500 μm areas of surface epithelium were overgrown by tunica albuginea, descended into the stroma, and apparently fragmented into individual small (20–40 μm) follicle‐like cell nests. Differentiation of the surface epithelium was accompanied by macrophages and Thy‐1 glycoprotein. Small segments of surface epithelium showed N‐CAM and a lacked MHC class I expression. In such segments, clear spherical germ‐like cells migrated into the deeper stroma, associated with the microvasculature, and eventually aggregated with follicle‐like cell nests. CONCLUSIONS : Our data suggest that surface epithelium may be involved in the formation of some primordial follicles in adult ovaries. This process, and further follicular fate, may require a precise interplay of immune system related morphoregulatory molecules and macrophages.