Vol. 56 Nos. 10/11/12 (2012) pp.761-986

Female Germ Cells in Development & Tumors

Cover legend

La Folie des Grandeurs [Megalomania or Delusions of Grandeur] (1962) painted by the Belgian surrealist René F.G. Magritte (1898-1967), is suggestive of the theory of ovist preformationism which held that unborn offspring existed fully formed in the eggs of its mother prior to conception. This idea was heralded by Antonio Vallisnieri (1661-1730), who even believed that in the ovary of the first woman, the entire human race in miniature was present from the beginning. In addition, Magritte’s painting is also reminiscent of the phenomenon of parthenogenesis, embryo development from an unfertilized egg, which is the biopathological origin of ovarian teratoma tumors. Oil on canvas. 100.4 x 81.3 cm. Access # 78-145 E. Photographer: Hickey-Robertson, Houston, TX, USA. Reproduced with kind permission from The Menil Collection, Houston TX, USA.

Preface

Study an egg today to make an embryo tomorrow
Maurizio Zuccotti, Carlo Alberto Redi and Silvia Garagna
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 761-764

Female germ cells in development

Over 40 years of mentoring, educating, and researching in the world of oocytes
Catherine M.H. Combelles and David Albertini
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 765-770

From primordial germ cells to oocytes

The migration and loss of human primordial germ stem cells from the hind gut epithelium towards the gonadal ridge
Linn Salto Mamsen, Christian Beltoft Brøchner, Anne Grete Byskov and Kjeld Møllgard
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 771-778 Regulation of germ cell meiosis in the fetal ovary
Cassy M. Spiller, Josephine Bowles and Peter Koopman
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 779-787 Comparative molecular portraits of human unfertilized oocytes and primordial germ cells at 10 weeks of gestation
Ferdinand Diedrichs, Barbara Mlody, Peggy Matz, Heiko Fuchs, Lukas Chavez, Katharina Drewsand James Adjaye
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 789-797

Folliculogenesis

Metabolism throughout follicle and oocyte development in mammals
Esther Collado-Fernandez, Helen M. Picton and Rémi Dumollard
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 799-808 The role of Akt signalling in the mammalian ovary
Sandra Cecconi, Annunziata Mauro, Valerio Cellini and Felice Patacchiola
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 809-817 The antral follicle: a microenvironment for oocyte differentiation
Margo L. Hennet and Catherine M. H. Combelles
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 819-831 Influence of the zona pellucida of the mouse egg on folliculogenesis and fertility
Paul M. Wassarman and Eveline S. Litscher
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 833-839 Oocyte ageing and its cellular basis
Ursula Eichenlaub-Ritter
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 841-852

Genetic and epigenetic signatures

OCT4 and the acquisition of oocyte developmental competence during folliculogenesis
Maurizio Zuccotti, Valeria Merico, Martina Belli, Francesca Mulas, Lucia Sacchi, Blaz Zupan, Carlo Alberto Redi, Alessandro Prigione, James Adjaye, Riccardo Bellazzi and Silvia Garagna
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 853-858 Knowledge-based bioinformatics for the study of mammalian oocytes
Francesca Mulas, Lucia Sacchi, Lan Zagar, Silvia Garagna, Maurizio Zuccotti, Blaz Zupan and Riccardo Bellazzi
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 859-866 DNA methylation establishment during oocyte growth: mechanisms and significance
Shin-Ichi Tomizawa, Joanna Nowacka-Woszuk and Gavin Kelsey
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 867-875 Genome organization and epigenetic marks in mouse germinal vesicle oocytes
Amelie Bonnet-Garnier, Prisca Feuerstein, Martine Chebrout, Renaud Fleurot, Habib-Ullah Jan, Pascale Debey and Nathalie Beaujean
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 877-887 Histone hyperacetylation during meiosis interferes with large-scale chromatin remodeling, axial chromatid condensation and sister chromatid separation in the mammalian oocyte
Feikun Yang, Claudia Baumann, Maria M. Viveiros and Rabindranath De La Fuente
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 889-899

In vitro growth of the ovarian follicle

Strategies to support human oocyte development in vitro
Evelyn E. Telfer and Marie McLaughlin
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 901-907 Human oocyte maturation in vitro
Giovanni Coticchio, Mariabeatrice Dal-Canto, Maria-Cristina Guglielmo, Mario Mignini-Renzini and Rubens Fadini
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 909-918 The use of immature oocytes in the fertility preservation of cancer patients: current promises and challenges
Catherine M. H. Combelles and Gabriela Chateau
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 919-929 Towards a 3D culture of mouse ovarian follicles
Martina Belli, Giulia Vigone, Valeria Merico, Carlo Alberto Redi, Maurizio Zuccotti and Silvia Garagna
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 931-937

Female germ cells in tumors

Above the borderland between normal and neoplastic development
Juan Aréchaga and Ivan Damjanov
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 939-948 The fate of granulosa cells following premature oocyte loss and the development of ovarian cancers
Janet L. Pitman, Alan S. McNeilly, Judy R. McNeilly, Laura E. Hays, Grover C. Bagby Jr., Heywood R. Sawyer and Kenneth P. McNatty
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 949-958 Involvement of adipokines, AMPK, PI3K and the PPAR signaling pathways in ovarian follicle development and cancer
Joëlle Dupont, Maxime Reverchon, Lucie Cloix, Pascal Froment and Christelle Ramé
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 959-967 Gliomatosis peritonei as a natural experiment in tissue differentiation
Francisco F. Nogales, Ovidiu Preda and Isabel Dulcey
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 969-974

Oocyte nuclear transfers

Amphibian interorder nuclear transfer embryos reveal conserved embryonic gene transcription, but deficient DNA replication or chromosome segregation
Patrick Narbonne and John B. Gurdon
Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2012) 56: 975-986

The International Journal of Developmental Biology
ISSN 1696-3547 (online) and 0214-6282 (print)