Although carefully documented in the early editions of the famous surgical reference work Gray's Anatomy, the existence of the ovarian reticulum has largely fallen into obscurity, being excluded from modern texts and seen as a "non-functional relic".
Although this structure is highly conserved in mammalian species, from camels to guinea pigs, suggesting that the small ovarian structure has a sufficiently important role.
What's more, an equivalent (if simpler) structure in males – the net – has a known function that involves maintaining the fluid in the mesh and aiding in sperm transport.
Duke University cell biologist Dilara Anbarci and colleagues are using modern technology to examine this ovarian appendage in mice, far from being the first female reproductive structure to be overlooked, and the disappearance of the ovarian web is now finally being corrected.
Duke University developmental biologist Blanche Capel told Michael LePage in the journal New Scientist: "We think it's regulating the timing or rate of ovulation. ”。
It may control how many (ovarian) follicles are activated in a person's cycle, or when they are activated. So we might be able to use it to prolong the reproductive life of women. ”
By injecting mice with fluorescent dyes, the researchers confirmed that their contents flow to the ovaries. The secretions of this tissue include at least 15 proteins of undetermined use.
Surrounding this structure are dense vascular tangles, which are also directly connected to a system of neurons that connect with muscle cells to contract, as in the uterus, or with an outer layer of cells, as in our gut.
Together, these anatomical features suggest that this tiny structure may contribute to hormone signaling, which controls the number of egg-producing follicles on the ovaries each cycle. The ovarian mesh may be a sensory appendage that acts like the "tongue" of the ovaries.
In flies and worms, the ovaries respond to changes in their surroundings, including those caused by changes in diet. Anbarci and the team suspect that this may be the role of the ovarian network, which senses changes in the mammalian ovarian environment and signals them accordingly.
"The direct proximity of the ovarian network to the ovaries and its integration with the extraovarian landscape suggest that it plays an important role in ovarian development and homeostasis," the researchers wrote in **. ”
There's a lot more to be confirmed, but the researchers next intend to challenge this structure's response to physiological signals, including hormonal and dietary changes.
"We recommend adding RO to this list and investigating it as an additional component of female reproductive function," the researchers concluded. ”。
This study has been uploaded to Biorxiv and is yet to be peer-reviewed.