female germ cell

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical feature, pathological morphology, special histopathological subtype and immunohistochemical characteristic of gonadoblastoma. METHODS: Three patients of gonadoblastoma treated from 2014 to 2020 were enrolled, and the clinical characteristics, histological morphology and immunophenotype were analyzed, and the literatures were also reviewed. RESULT: Three phenotypical females were 14,17 and 27 years old...

Mitochondria have a crucial role in cellular function and exhibit remarkable plasticity, adjusting both their structure and activity to meet the changing energy demands of a cell. Oocytes, female germ cells that become eggs, undergo unique transformations: the extended dormancy period, followed by substantial increase in cell size and subsequent maturation involving the segregation of genetic material for the next generation, present distinct metabolic challenges necessitating varied mitochondrial adaptations...

The nuclear lamina (NL) changes composition for regulation of nuclear events. We investigated changes that occur in Drosophila oogenesis, revealing switches in NL composition during germ cell differentiation. Germline stem cells (GSCs) express only LamB and predominantly emerin, whereas differentiating nurse cells predominantly express LamC and emerin2. A change in LamC-specific localization also occurs, wherein phosphorylated LamC redistributes to the nuclear interior only in the oocyte, prior to transcriptional reactivation of the meiotic genome...

The megasporangium serves as a model system for understanding the concept of individual cell identity, and cell-to-cell communication in angiosperms. As development of the ovule progresses, three distinct layers, the epidermal (L1), the subepidermal or the hypodermal (L2) and the innermost layers (L3) are formed along the MMC (megaspore mother cell). The MMC, which is the primary female germline cell, is initiated as a single subepidermal cell amongst several somatic cells. MMC development is governed by various regulatory pathways involving intercellular signaling, small RNAs and DNA methylation...

Accurate diagnoses are crucial in determining the most effective treatment across different cancers. In challenging cases, morphology-based traditional pathology methods have important limitations, while molecular profiling can provide valuable information to guide clinical decisions. We present a 35-year female with lung cancer with choriocarcinoma features. Her disease involved the right lower lung, brain, and thoracic lymph nodes. The pathology from brain metastasis was reported as "metastatic choriocarcinoma" (a germ cell tumor) by local pathologists...

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide DNA demethylation occurs in mammalian primordial germ cells (PGCs) as part of the epigenetic reprogramming important for gametogenesis and resetting the epigenetic information for totipotency. Dppa3 (also known as Stella or Pgc7) is highly expressed in mouse PGCs and oocytes and encodes a factor essential for female fertility. It prevents excessive DNA methylation in oocytes and ensures proper gene expression in preimplantation embryos: however, its role in PGCs is largely unexplored...

Hyaluronic acid (HA) plays a prominent role in various aspects of reproductive biology and assisted reproductive technologies (ART). This review describes the multifaceted influence of HA, ranging from primordial germ cell migration, ovarian follicle development, and ovulation in females to sperm structure, physiology, motility, and capacitation in males. In addition, HA also plays an important role in fertilization and promotes embryo implantation by mediating cellular adhesion and communication within the uterus...

Among adolescents and young adults, hematological malignancies are the most common malignancies. Although the survival rate of hematological malignancies in young patients has been dramatically improved, due to the continuous improvement and development of tumor diagnosis and treatment options, cytotoxic therapies can significantly reduce a patient's reproductive capacity and cause irreversible infertility. The most two established solutions are embryo cryopreservation and oocyte cryopreservation which can be considered in single female...

Gametogenesis drives the maturation of germ cell precursors into functional gametes, facilitated by interactions with the niche environment. However, the molecular mechanisms, especially in invertebrates, remain incompletely understood. In this study, the gonadal microenvironment and gametogenic processes in the Pacific oyster, a model for diffuse gonadal organization and periodic gametogenesis, are investigated. We combine single-nucleus RNA-seq and bulk RNA-seq to analyze gonadal microenvironments in oysters...

In Drosophila, only one cell in a multicellular female germline cyst is specified as an oocyte and a similar process occurs in mammals. The symmetry-breaking cue for oocyte selection is provided by the fusome, a tubular structure connecting all cells in the cyst. The Drosophila spectraplakin Shot localises to the fusome and translates its asymmetry into a polarised microtubule network that is essential for oocyte specification, but how Shot recognises the fusome is unclear. Here, we demonstrate that the actin-binding domain (ABD) of Shot is necessary and sufficient to localise Shot to the fusome and mediates Shot function in oocyte specification together with the microtubule-binding domains...

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) after curative treatment for testicular germ cell tumors (GCTs) has been previously reported. It has been shown that CIPN can contribute to impaired quality of life (QOL) in cancer survivors. Herein, we aimed to evaluate CIPN in association with QOL in GCT survivors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life - Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy questionnaire (QLQ-CIPN20) and Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) were prospectively completed by GCT survivors (N = 151) at National Cancer Institute in Slovakia during their annual follow-up...

OBJECTIVE: This study retrospectively analyzes the clinical data of 18 children with 45,X/46,XY differences of sex development (DSD), summarizes their clinical features and explores gonadal and Müllerian duct remnants surgical treatment methods. METHODS: The clinical data of 18 children with karyotype 45,X/46,XY diagnosed in the Department of Urology of Hunan Children's Hospital from March 2011 to October 2021 were collected. All children underwent HCG stimulation testing, laparoscopic exploration, urethroscopy and bilateral gonadal biopsy...

Previously, we found that the ultraviolet filter benzophenone-3 (BP3) causes fetal growth restriction in mice when is applied when implantation occurs (first week of gestation). However, whether BP3 can affect gestation and fertility after implantation period is unknown. We aimed to study the effects on reproductive physiology of the offspring caused by perinatal exposure to BP3. C57BL/6 pregnant mice were dermally exposed to 50 mg BP3/kg bw.day or olive oil (vehicle) from gestation day 9 (gd9) to postnatal day 21 (pnd1)...

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the ancestors of female and male germ cells. Recent studies have shown that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and histone methylation are key epigenetic factors affecting PGC formation; however, their joint regulatory mechanisms have rarely been studied. Here, we explored the mechanism by which lncCPSET1 and H3K4me2 synergistically regulate the formation of chicken PGCs for the first time. Combined with chromatin immunoprecipitation (CHIP) sequencing and RNA-seq of PGCs transfected with the lncCPSET1 overexpression vector, GO annotation and KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that Wnt and TGF-β signaling pathways were significantly enriched, and Fzd2, Id1, Id4, and Bmp4 were identified as candidate genes...

Ovarian immature teratoma (IT) is a rare neoplasm comprising ∼3% of ovarian cancers, occurring primarily in young females. Management presents several challenges, including those with elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein, potential confusion regarding pathology interpretation, and paucity of data to support decision-making. MaGIC (https://magicconsortium.com/) is an interdisciplinary international consortium of GCT experts from multiple subspecialties, with members receiving frequent queries regarding IT patient management...

Disruption of meiosis and DNA repair genes is associated with female fertility disorders like premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). In this study, we identified a homozygous missense variant in the HELQ gene (c.596 A>C; p.Gln199Pro) through whole exome sequencing in a POI patient, a condition associated with disrupted ovarian function and female infertility. HELQ, an enzyme involved in DNA repair, plays a crucial role in repairing DNA cross-links and has been linked to germ cell maintenance, fertility, and tumour suppression in mice...

Sex is determined by multiple factors derived from somatic and germ cells in vertebrates. We have identified amhy, dmrt1, gsdf as male and foxl2, foxl3, cyp19a1a as female sex determination pathway genes in Nile tilapia. However, the relationship among these genes is largely unclear. Here, we found that the gonads of dmrt1;cyp19a1a double mutants developed as ovaries or underdeveloped testes with no germ cells irrespective of their genetic sex. In addition, the gonads of dmrt1;cyp19a1a;cyp19a1b triple mutants still developed as ovaries...

Pigs serve as a robust animal model for the study of human diseases, notably in the context of disorders of sex development (DSD). This study aims to investigate the phenotypic characteristics and molecular mechanisms underlying the reproductive and developmental abnormalities of 38,XX ovotestis-DSD (OT-DSD) and 38,XX testis-DSD (T-DSD) in pigs. Clinical and transcriptome sequencing analyses were performed on DSD and normal female pigs. Cytogenetic and SRY analyses confirmed that OT/T-DSD pigs exhibited a 38,XX karyotype and lacked the SRY gene...

Land plants share several core factors responsible for female gametophyte development, despite their differing structures and developmental programs. New work providing molecular dissection of reproductive phases in non-angiosperm plants is a powerful tool for elucidating the underlying genetic network.

The genetics of sex determination varies across taxa, sometimes even within a species. Major domesticated strains of zebrafish ( Danio rerio ), including AB and TU, lack a strong genetic sex determining locus, but strains more recently derived from nature, like Nadia (NA), possess a ZZ male/ZW female chromosomal sex-determination system. AB fish pass through a juvenile ovary stage, forming oocytes that survive in fish that become females but die in fish that become males. To understand mechanisms of gonad development in NA zebrafish, we studied histology and single cell transcriptomics in developing ZZ and ZW fish...