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Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology
Published in: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 1/2012

Open Access 01-12-2012 | Review

Germline cells in ovarian surface epithelium of mammalians: a promising notion

Authors: Onder Celik, Ebru Celik, Ilgin Turkcuoglu, Ercan Yilmaz, Yavuz Simsek, Bulent Tiras

Published in: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology | Issue 1/2012

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Abstract

It is a long held doctrine in reproductive biology that women are born with a finite number of oocytes and there is no oogenesis during the postnatal period. However, recent evidence challenges this by showing the presence of germ line stem cells in the human ovarian surface epithelium (OSE), which can serve as a source of germ cells, and differentiate into oocyte like structures. Postnatal renewal of oocytes may have enormous therapeutic potential especially in women facing the risk of premature ovarian failure idiopathically or iatrogenically after exposure to gonadotoxic chemotherapy and radiation for cancer therapy.
This article reviews current knowledge on germ line stem cells in human OSE.
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Metadata
Title
Germline cells in ovarian surface epithelium of mammalians: a promising notion
Authors
Onder Celik
Ebru Celik
Ilgin Turkcuoglu
Ercan Yilmaz
Yavuz Simsek
Bulent Tiras
Publication date
01-12-2012
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology / Issue 1/2012
Electronic ISSN: 1477-7827
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7827-10-112

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