2. folliculogenesis and ovulation Flashcards
describe the stages of follicle development
- primordial follicle
- primary follicle
- secondary follicle
- developing antral follicle
- antral follicle
- ovulation
- corpus luteum
- corpus albicans
what is a follicle
- contains the oocyte
- place for oocyte to mature
- fluid filled
- secretes oestradiol => oestrus
- multiple stages of development
- lined with granulosa, -> basement membrane -> theca cells
what is the corpus luteum
- highly vascularised, transient endocrine gland
- solid
- progesterone production
how do the early germ cells develop
- primordial germ cells migrate from yolk sac –> hind gut –> developing gonad
- proliferate by mitosis to become oogonia
- oogonia develop in interconnected clusters of “egg nests”
- oogonia enter meiosis to become primary oocytes
how do oocytes develop
- egg nest breaks apart
- oocytes associate with somatic granulosa cells to form primordial follicles
- entire population undergo meiotic arrest (prophase 1) until puberty
- oogenesis is the process by which oocytes are formed
how long is the preantral follicle growth period
months
what stimulates primordial follicles to grow
intra-ovarian factors - NOT gonadotrophins
what stimulates antral follicle growth
gonadotrophins
primordial follicle characterised by
- single layer of squamous granulosa
- found clustered near the outer edge of ovary
20 mm
primary follicle characterised by:
single layer of cuboidal granulosa
200-400 mm
secondary follicle characterised by:
- multiple layers of granulosa
- thin layer of outer theca cells
antral follicle
- clear oocyte
- fluid
- stratified granulosa
>500 mm
how do oocytes grow
- oocyte grows rapidly during early follicular development
- increase size and RNA
- most oocyte growth occurs in pre-antral stages
- zona pellucida: specialised glycoprotein matrix (oocyte protection, sperm recognition and binding)
- communication between oocytes and granulosa is bi-directional: growth factors, projections and gap junctions (both physical and chemical interaction)
what are the phases of antral follicle growth
- recruitment
- selection
- dominance
takes several days - most follicles die by artresia or degeneration
what happens in antral follicle recruitment phase
- corhort of small (antral) follicles start to develop (10-20)
- initiated by FSH wave
- secrete small amount of oestradiol
- occurs in luteal as well as follicular phase
- some undergo artresia