Distinct waves of ovarian follicles contribute to mouse oocyte production.

ABSTRACT: The earliest growing mouse follicles, wave 1, rapidly develop in the ovarian medulla, while the great majority, wave 2, are stored for later use as resting primordial follicles in the cortex. Wave 1 follicles are known to mostly undergo atresia, a fate sometimes associated with the persistence of steroidogenic theca cells, but this connection is poorly understood. We characterized wave 1 follicle biology using tissue clearing, lineage tracing, and scRNA-seq to clarify their contributions to offspring and steroidogenesis. Wave 1 follicles, lineage-marked by E16.5 Foxl2 expression in granulosa cells, reach preantral stages containing theca cell layers by 2 weeks. Atresia begins about a week later, during which 80-100% of wave 1 follicles degrade their oocytes, turn over most granulosa

SUBMITTER: Yin Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12503487 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature