MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Humphrey Yao, Ph.D. Lead Researcher Reproductive and Developmental Biology Laboratory National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Triangle Park, North Carolina Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Yao: We wanted to understand how an organ forms, and what basic cell types were needed to form an organ. So, we used a mouse ovary model system to understand the process. The functional unit of the ovary is called the follicle, and it is made up of three types of cells — the maturing egg, granulosa cells, and theca cells. Scientists knew where the egg and the granulosa cells came from, but no one knew where theca cells came from. Theca cells are important, because they allow females to produce the hormones that sustain follicle growth. Researchers also lacked information about how the egg, granulosa cells, and theca cells talked to each other to promote growth and maintain a healthy ovary. We made two discoveries. First, we answered the long-standing question of theca cell origin by determining that they have two sources, both inside and outside of the ovary. We don’t yet know why theca cells have two sources. Second, we uncovered the molecular signaling system that the egg, granulosa cells, and theca cells use to communicate. We didn’t expect to find this three-way cellular crosstalk, but now that we know how they signal each other, I believe we are closer to understanding how an ovary develops and what happens when something goes wrong. Ovarian disorders, such as premature ovarian failure and polycystic ovarian syndrome, may start when cellular communication is altered or if the various cells fail to develop properly. (more…)