人卵丘细胞与卵母细胞发育及成熟的关系

Relationship of Human Cumulus Cells and Oocyte during Oocyte Development or Maturation

卵丘细胞与卵母细胞共处于同一个卵泡液微环境中,卵丘细胞与卵母细胞之间复杂的"对话机制"调控着卵母细胞的成熟和卵丘细胞的增殖延伸。在窦卵泡阶段,卵丘细胞由颗粒细胞分化而来,通过缝隙连接与卵母细胞共同形成一个结构和功能上的合胞体。卵泡发育不同时期,卵丘细胞对卵母细胞的代谢调控主要表现为:在窦卵泡期,卵丘细胞为卵母细胞发育提供必需的营养,而卵母细胞分泌的信号因子亦调控着卵丘细胞的增殖和延伸;在排卵前卵泡中,卵丘细胞主要通过调控卵母细胞中cAMP水平,促使卵母细胞恢复减数分裂;在排卵后卵泡中,卵丘细胞亦影响着精-卵结合及胚胎发育的过程。另外,伴随卵泡内微环境的变化,卵丘细胞与卵母细胞间发生着复杂的信号传递,从而对卵母细胞的发育实现分子水平的调控,其中部分基因可能作为卵母细胞发育成熟、胚胎发育及妊娠结局的分子标志物。

The cumulus cells （CCs） share the same follicular microenvironment with oocyte, and the bi- directional communication between CCs and oocyte is controlling the oocyte maturation and CCs proliferation. CCs originate from granulose ceils （GCs） which differentiate into mural GCs and CCs during follicular antrum formation. The signaling between the CCs and oocyte via gap junctions and then they were made up of a structural and functional unit. During the different phases of folliculogenesis, CCs controlled the oocyte development as follows： during the antral phase, CCs provided necessary nourishment to support oocyte development and oocyte secreted signal factors to control the proliferation of CCs; during the pre-ovulatory phase, CCs promoted the oocyte to resume meiosis by controlling the cAMP; during the post-ovulation, the CCs also affected fertilization or embryos development. Furthermore, as the follicular microenvironment was changing, the complex communication of sig- nals was occurring between CCs and oocyte to control the oocyte development at the molecular level. Some genes were identified as new markers of oocyte maturation, embryo development and pregnancy.