Structural changes and cell properties of human ovarian surface epithelium in ovarian pathophysiology

The surface epithelial cells of the ovary, which are modified peritoneal cells, form a single, focally pseudostratified layer. The Mullerian ducts differentiate after invagination of the coelomic mesothelium over the gonadal ridges during the 6th week of embryonic life. On the basis of the embryologically putative Mullerian potential of this epithelium, endometriosis can be explained by coelomic metaplasia from the peritoneum, including ovarian surface epithelium. Some pelvic endometriosis specimens have shown that epithelial cells on the ovary or pelvis are serially changed to endometriotic gland cells. Immunohistochemistry as well as scanning electron microscopy also reinforce the light-microscopical findings. A three-dimensional culture system demonstrated that human ovarian surface epithelial cells exhibited a glandular-stromal structure when they were cocultured with endometrial stromal cells in an estrogen-rich environment. Ovarian carcinomas in the epithelial-stromal category are thought to arise from the surface epithelium and its inclusions. The ovarian surface epithelium is physiologically involved in follicular rupture, oocyte release, and the subsequent repair of follicle wall during reproductive age. Simultaneously, ovulation may cause a loss of integrity of the surface epithelium, followed by accumulation of multiple mutations. The cortical invagination, surface stromal proliferation, and Mullerian differentiation of these cells are likely not to be an early step in the cancer development. However, the inclusion cysts are closely related with carcinogenesis because they are significantly more common in ovaries contralateral to those containing epithelial cancers than in control ovaries. As an in vitro study, ovarian carcinoma cell lines were established from simian virus 40 large T antigen-transformed human surface epithelial cells of the ovary. Further investigations of these cell lines may lead to insights into the preneoplastic and early stages of carcinomas. To clarify the pathogenesis of endometriosis and epithelial ovarian cancer, specifically designed studies of ovarian surface epithelium are required.