|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
|
A Perspective on Oocytes
a Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, New York Medical College and Institute for Fertility Preservation, Center for Human Reproduction, New York, New York 10021, USA
Key Words: stem cell • primordial germ cell • oogonia • oocyte • ovary • gamete • regeneration
Address for correspondence: Kutluk Oktay, MD, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, New York Medical College, Munger Pavilion Room 617, Valhalla, NY 10595. Voice: 1-212-994-4400. koktay{at}fertilitypreservation.org
Stem cells, with their unlimited self-renewal feature and their ability to differentiate into almost every mature cell type in the body, have enormous potential for research and therapeutic application. In this article, we review the formation of primordial germ cells, the precursors of adult gametocytes, from their specification to their migration to prospective gonads. We discuss recent studies that obtained germ cells from stem cells in vitro. We place special emphasis on studies that challenge the current dogma in reproductive biology that female mammals are born with a set number of nonrenewable germ cells in the ovary by showing germ cell renewal in the adult ovary.
|
 |
 |
