Female mice lack adult germ-line stem cells but sustain oogenesis using stable primordial follicles

作者：Lei Lei, Allan C. Spradling · 发表于：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 年份：2013 · DOI：10.1073/pnas.1306189110 · 被引用次数：165 · 研究领域：Reproductive Biology and Fertility、Pluripotent Stem Cells Research、Sperm and Testicular Function

Whether or not mammalian females generate new oocytes during adulthood from germ-line stem cells to sustain the ovarian follicle pool has recently generated controversy. We used a sensitive lineage-labeling system to determine whether stem cells are needed in female adult mice to compensate for follicular losses and to directly identify active germ-line stem cells. Primordial follicles generated during fetal life are highly stable, with a half-life during adulthood of 10 mo, and thus are sufficient to sustain adult oogenesis without a source of renewal. Moreover, in normal mice or following germ-cell depletion with Busulfan, only stable, single oocytes are lineage-labeled, rather than cell clusters indicative of new oocyte formation. Even one germ-line stem cell division per 2 wk would have been detected by our method, based on the kinetics of fetal follicle formation. Thus, adult female mice neither require nor contain active germ-line stem cells or produce new oocytes in vivo.