I. Introduction IN THE adult ovary, folliculogenesis starts when follicles leave the pool of
resting follicles (RF) to enter the growth phase. From there, the early growing follicle …

The ovary, the female gonad, serves as the source for the germ cells as well as the major
supplier of steroid sex hormones. During embryonic development, the primordial germ cells …

Ovarian reserve is determined by the number of primordial follicles in the ovary. Quiescent
primordial follicles are activated for growth and pass through stages of development before …

In developing ovarian follicles, the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation is tightly
coordinated. Precisely how this coordination is achieved is unknown, but recent …

Ovarian follicular development occurs in a hierarchical manner with each follicle having a
unique biochemical composition at any moment in time. It has long been understood that a …

Following the initial purification and characterization of transforming growth factor-p (TGF-p)
as a homodimeric, 25-kDa peptide (FROLIK et al. 1983; As-SOlAN et al. 1983; ROBERTS et …

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the structure and function of Transforming
Growth Factor-β (TGF-β). Like many other peptide growth factors, TGF-β is multifunctional …

ELUCIDATING the secrets of intraovarian intercellular communication constitutes a central
area of investigation. Whereas most attention has been directed thus far at the somatic …

The process of ovarian folliculogenesis is composed of proliferation and differentiation of the
constitutive cells in developing follicles. Growth factors emitted by oocytes integrate and …

The hypothesis was tested that bovine preantral follicles can be stimulated to grow in vitro by
FSH and by the mitogens, epidermal growth factor (EGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor …