Intraovarian Control of Early Folliculogenesis

Although hormonal regulation of ovarian follicle development has been extensively investigated, most studies concentrate on the development of early antral follicles to the preovulatory stage, leading to the successful use of exogenous FSH for infertility treatment. Accumulating data indicate that preantral follicles are under stringent regulation by FSH and local intraovarian factors, thus providing the possibility to develop new therapeutic approaches. Granulosa cell-derived C-type natriuretic factor not only suppresses the final maturation of oocytes to undergo germinal vesicle breakdown before ovulation but also promotes preantral and antral follicle growth. In addition, several oocyte- and granulosa…