Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

The quest for human ovarian stem cells

Nature Medicine volume 18, pages 353–354 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

Researchers have isolated a rare population of germline stem cells from adult mouse and human ovaries that are capable of forming oocytes. The ability to harvest such cells from human ovaries could change the options available for fertility preservation and the treatment of infertility (pages 413–421).

In most mammalian females, the ovaries undergo age-related dysfunction and failure, and it has long been believed that this occurs as a consequence of the depletion of a nonrenewable pool of female germ cells (primordial follicles) established before (or shortly after) birth. This cornerstone of mammalian female reproductive biology was challenged by a study published 8 years ago suggesting that the mouse ovary retained the capacity to produce germ cells throughout life1. However, the isolation and identification of oocyte-producing germline stem cells, also called oogonial stem cells (OSC), as unequivocal proof of their existence in the ovaries of adult mammals in general, and of humans in particular, remained elusive.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy article

Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.

$32.00

Buy

All prices are NET prices.

Figure 1: Selection of OSCs from human ovaries.

References

  1. Johnson, J., Canning, J., Kaneko, T., Pru, J.K. & Tilly, J.L. Nature 428, 145–150 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. White, Y.R et al. Nat. Med. 18, 413–421 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Telfer, E.E. et al. Cell 122, 821–822 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Tilly, J.L., Niikura, Y. & Rueda, B.R. Biol. Reprod. 80, 2–12 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Faddy, M.J., Gosden, R.G., Gougeon, A., Richardson, S.J. & Nelson, J.F. Hum. Reprod. 7, 1342–1346 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Zou, K. et al. Nat. Cell Biol. 11, 631–636 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Tilly, J.L. & Telfer, E.E. Mol. Hum. Reprod. 15, 393–398 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Zheng, P. & Dean, J. Semin. Reprod. Med. 25, 243–251 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Rodrigues, P., Limback, D., McGinnis, L.K., Plancha, C.E. & Albertini, D.F. J. Cell Physiol. 216, 355–365 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Telfer, E.E., McLaughlin, M., Ding, C. & Thong, K.J. Hum. Reprod. 23, 1151–1158 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Check, E. Nature 446, 485–486 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Evelyn E. Telfer is at the Institute of Cell Biology and Centre for Integrative Physiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK,

    Evelyn E Telfer

  2. David F. Albertini is at the Institute for Reproductive Health and Regenerative Medicine, Center for Reproductive Sciences, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA.,

    David F Albertini

Authors
  1. Evelyn E Telfer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David F Albertini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Evelyn E Telfer or David F Albertini.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

D.F.A. is on the Scientific Advisory Board of OvaScience Inc.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Telfer, E., Albertini, D. The quest for human ovarian stem cells. Nat Med 18, 353–354 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.2699

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.2699

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing