All Your Eggs in One Basket: Mechanisms of Xenobiotic Induced Female Reproductive Senescence

Abstract

The irreplaceable mammalian primordial follicle represents the basic unit of female fertility, serving as the primary source of all developing oocytes in the ovary. These primordial follicles remain quiescent, often for decades, until recruited into the growing pool throughout a woman’s adult reproductive years. Once recruited, <1% will reach ovulation, with the remainder undergoing an apoptotic process known as atresia (Hirshfield, 1991). Menopause, or ovarian senescence, occurs when the pool of primordial follicles becomes exhausted.