title: Autophagy is a cell survival program for female germ cells in the murine ovary.
abstract: It is estimated that infertility affects 15-20% of couples and can arise from female or male reproductive defects. Mouse models have ascribed roles to over 100 genes in the maintenance of female fertility. Although previous models have determined roles for apoptosis in male and female fertility, we find that compromised autophagy within the perinatal ovary, through the loss of Becn1 or Atg7, results in the premature loss of female germ cells. Becn1(+/-) ovaries have a 56% reduction of germ cells compared with control ovaries at post-natal day 1, whereas Atg7(-/-) ovaries lack discernable germ cells at this stage. Thus autophagy appears to be a cell survival mechanism to maintain the endowment of female germ cells prior to establishing primordial follicle pools in the ovary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, 313 Thomas Hunt Morgan, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Gawriluk
authors.forename: Amber N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Hale
authors.forename: Jodi A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Flaws
authors.forename: Christopher P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Dillon
authors.forename: Douglas R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Edmund B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Rucker
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics; D001343:Autophagy / Q000235:genetics; D000071193:Autophagy-Related Protein 7; D000071186:Beclin-1; D002452:Cell Count; D002470:Cell Survival; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000235:genetics; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D051379:Mice; D057507:Mice, 129 Strain; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics; D010053:Ovary / Q000473:pathology*; D010063:Ovum / Q000473:pathology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; C502661:Atg7 protein, mouse; D000071186:Beclin-1; C115010:Becn1 protein, mouse; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000071193:Autophagy-Related Protein 7