Growth of primordial oocytes in neonatal and adult mammals

Mammalian ovaries are endowed with a huge number of small oocytes (primordial oocytes) in primordial follicles. A small number of primordial oocytes start to grow, while others remain quiescent. Little is known about the mechanism regulating the activation of primordial oocytes. Recently, we found that primordial follicles in mature cows and prepubertal pigs took longer to initiate growth in xenografts compared with those in neonatal animals. We think that primordial oocytes in adult mammals are different from those in neonatal mammals. In this review, we summarize the results regarding the activation of primordial oocytes in neonatal and adult ovaries of different species and propose a model in which ovaries of neonatal mammals contain a mixed population of both quiescent and activated primordial oocytes, while almost all primordial oocytes are quiescent in adult females. The dormancy of primordial oocytes may be required to reserve the non-growing oocyte pool for the long reproductive life in mammals. FOXO3 is considered one of the molecules responsible for the dormancy of primordial oocytes in adult ovaries. These quiescent primordial oocytes are activated, perhaps by certain mechanisms involving the interaction between stimulatory and inhibitory factors, to enter the growth phase.