AI Article Synopsis

  • Theca cells play crucial roles in ovarian follicle growth and maturation, providing necessary structural, metabolic, and steroid-producing support.
  • Researchers conducted single cell multi-omics analysis to understand the origins and differentiation of various theca cell subtypes in human antral stage follicles.
  • They identified three specific types of theca cells—structural, androgenic, and perifollicular—along with a progenitor cell, contributing to a better understanding of ovarian development and potential implications for diagnosing or treating ovarian disorders.

Article Abstract

Theca cells serve multiple essential functions during the growth and maturation of ovarian follicles, providing structural, metabolic, and steroidogenic support. While the function of theca during folliculogenesis is well established, their cellular origins and the differentiation hierarchy that generates distinct theca sub-types, remain unknown. Here, we performed single cell multi-omics analysis of primary cell populations purified from human antral stage follicles (1-3 mm) to define the differentiation trajectory of theca/stroma cells. We then corroborated the temporal emergence and growth kinetics of defined theca/stroma subpopulations using human ovarian tissue samples and xenografts of cryopreserved/thawed ovarian cortex, respectively. We identified three lineage specific derivatives termed structural, androgenic, and perifollicular theca cells, as well as their putative lineage-negative progenitor. These findings provide a framework for understanding the differentiation process that occurs in each primordial follicle and identifies specific cellular/molecular phenotypes that may be relevant to either diagnosis or treatment of ovarian pathologies.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-04384-8DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9812973PMC

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