Ovarian pluripotent/multipotent stem cells and in vitro oogenesis in mammals
Irma Virant-Klun1, Martin Stimpfel1 and Thomas Skutella2
1Reproductive Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Slovenia and 2Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
Offprint requests to: Dr. Irma Virant-Klun, Assist. Prof., Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Slajmerjeva 3, 1000-Ljubljana, Slovenia. e-mail: irma.virant@kclj.si
Summary. There has been a long persisting dilemma about potential ovarian stem cells in adult mammalian ovaries, including human, and now there is steadily increasing experimental evidence on their existence. After some previous indirect evidence about the presence of stem cells in adult mouse ovaries, an important breakthrough was made by Zou and his co-workers who successfully established long-persisting pluripotent/multipotent ovarian stem cell lines in neonatal and adult mice, and were followed by some other important studies in mouse and human. Moreover, oocyte-like cells can be developed in vitro from pluripotent stem cells of different origins (embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, fetal skin stem cells, pancreatic stem cells). The aim of this article is to elucidate the fast growing new knowledge on the ovarian stem cells and potential in vitro oogenesis in mammals. Histol Histopathol 26, 1071-1082 (2011)
Key words: Germinal stem cell, Oocyte, Oogenesis in vitro, Ovary
DOI: 10.14670/HH-26.1071