Detection of apoptosis in human and rat ovarian follicles.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine whether cells acquired from individual human preovulatory follicles undergo apoptosis (physiologic cell death) and, if so, to correlate the degree of apoptosis with characteristics of the follicles or the oocytes derived from the follicles.


METHODS
We devised a sensitive nonradioactive method for detecting apoptotic DNA fragmentation in small numbers of cells derived from rat atretic follicles and follicular aspirates of patients undergoing assisted reproductive technologies.


RESULTS
Using this method, apoptotic DNA was detected in rat atretic follicles, with optimal detection at 10-100 ng. Furthermore, apoptotic DNA was detected in some, but not all individual human follicular aspirates from several patients, and was found in follicles that produced oocytes that fertilized and developed into embryos.


CONCLUSIONS
Apoptosis occurs in cells from human ovarian preovulatory follicles and may be a normal physiologic process of the follicle during luteinization.
Piquette
G N
GN
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Stanford University Medical Center, California, USA.
Tilly
J L
JL
Prichard
L E
LE
Simón
C
C
Polan
M L
ML
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley