1st 'atlas' of human ovaries could lead to fertility breakthrough, scientists say

For the first time, scientists have created a comprehensive "atlas" of the cells in the human ovary and mapped the specific pattern of gene activity required for a healthy egg to develop. 

The researchers determined which genes are activated in specific cells, and at what points they are activated during normal egg development, by analyzing ovarian tissue from organ donors. The key genes include those that need to be activated within the follicles — tiny sacs that hold developing eggs and release hormones — to produce mature eggs that can then be fertilized by sperm to give rise to a fetus.

Better understanding this process could pave the way for new fertility treatments, the scientists behind the research said. They described their findings in a study published Friday (April 5) in the journal Science Advances.

"This new data allows us to start building our understanding of what makes a good egg — what determines which follicle is going to grow, ovulate, be fertilized and become a baby," Ariella Shikanov, co-senior study author and an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan, said in a statement. 

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IMMAture versions of the follicles in the ovaries are already present when a person is born, and at that time, they collectively contain roughly 700,000 iMMAture eggs, or oocytes. By puberty, though, many of the oocytes have already degenerated, leaving about 400,000 cells in the ovarian reserve that could potentially fully mature.

Starting at puberty, hormones prompt some of these follicles to activate and begin growing inside the ovaries each month. A handful then produce mature eggs, one of which is released into the fallopian tubes, which connect the ovaries to the uterus; meanwhile, the other activated follicles wither away, along with their eggs.