Mammalian neo-oogenesis and expression of meiosis-specific protein SCP3 in adult human and monkey ovaries.

The concept of neo-oogenesis and follicular renewal during adulthood in mammalian females, including humans, is a novel concept with major significance for ovarian physiology and mammalian reproductive biology. Previous observations from our laboratory demonstrated that mesenchymal cells in the tunica albuginea are bipotent progenitors for both granulosa and germ cells in adult human ovaries. In the present studies, we demonstrate that the antibodies against meiotic entry synaptonemal complex protein 3 (SCP3)--a marker or meiosis, showed reactivity with segments of tunica albuginea and ovarian surface epithelium, and in oocytes of some primordial follicles in functional human and monkey ovaries.