Control of follicular growth During the primate menstrual cycle

Abstract

The elucidation of the mechanisms responsible for the growth of follicles to the preovulatory stage is a challenge for both basic as well as clinical investigators. For the former, this problem provides a model system in which whole animal physiology must be combined with cellular and molecular biology to determine how one of die many follicles present in the ovary gains an advantage over all others such that it alone reaches maturity, ovulates and releases an oocyte for fertilization. At the level of clinical investigation and clinical practice, the understanding of the physiological and biochemical mechanisms responsible for folliculogenesis and follicle selection must provide the foundation for effective treatment of anovulation as well as ovarian stimulation for IVF and GIFT procedures. The goal of this chapter is to summarize studies performed in macaque monkeys that have provided the physiological explanation for the selection of the preovulatory follicle. Because of the remarkable similarity of the menstrual cycle of these animals with that of humans, it is hoped that information gained from these studies in monkeys will be direcdy applicable to humans.