Mammalian Oocytes Locally Remodel Follicular Architecture to Provide the Foundation for Germline-Soma Communication.

ABSTRACT: Germ cells develop in a microenvironment created by the somatic cells of the gonad [1-3]. Although in males, the germ and somatic support cells lie in direct contact, in females, a thick extracellular coat surrounds the oocyte, physically separating it from the somatic follicle cells [4]. To bypass this barrier to communication, narrow cytoplasmic extensions of the follicle cells traverse the extracellular coat to reach the oocyte plasma membrane [5-9]. These delicate structures provide the sole platform for the contact-mediated communication between the oocyte and its follicular environment that is indispensable for production of a fertilizable egg [8, 10-15]. Identifying the mechanisms underlying their formation should uncover conserved regulators of fertility. We show here in mice that

SUBMITTER: El-Hayek S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5882553 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature