Single-cell analysis of human ovarian cortex identifies distinct cell populations but no oogonial stem cells.
Magdalena WagnerMasahito YoshiharaIyadh DouagiAnastasios DamdimopoulosSarita PanulaSophie PetropoulosHaojiang LuKarin PetterssonKerstin PalmShintaro KatayamaOuti HovattaJuha KereFredrik LannerPauliina DamdimopoulouPublished in: Nature communications (2020)
The human ovary orchestrates sex hormone production and undergoes monthly structural changes to release mature oocytes. The outer lining of the ovary (cortex) has a key role in defining fertility in women as it harbors the ovarian reserve. It has been postulated that putative oogonial stem cells exist in the ovarian cortex and that these can be captured by DDX4 antibody isolation. Here, we report single-cell transcriptomes and cell surface antigen profiles of over 24,000 cells from high quality ovarian cortex samples from 21 patients. Our data identify transcriptional profiles of six main cell types; oocytes, granulosa cells, immune cells, endothelial cells, perivascular cells, and stromal cells. Cells captured by DDX4 antibody are perivascular cells, not oogonial stem cells. Our data do not support the existence of germline stem cells in adult human ovaries, thereby reinforcing the dogma of a limited ovarian reserve.
Keyphrases
- stem cells
- endothelial cells
- single cell
- induced apoptosis
- cell cycle arrest
- cell therapy
- rna seq
- oxidative stress
- functional connectivity
- high throughput
- gene expression
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- signaling pathway
- transcription factor
- cell death
- mesenchymal stem cells
- newly diagnosed
- big data
- polycystic ovary syndrome
- young adults
- dna damage
- skeletal muscle
- bone marrow
- high glucose
- pi k akt
- data analysis
- breast cancer risk