Development of the human ovary: Fetal through pubertal ovarian morphology, folliculogenesis and expression of cellular differentiation markers

A definition of normal human fetal and early postnatal ovarian development is critical to the ability to accurately diagnose the presence or absence of functional ovarian tissue in clinical specimens. Through assembling an extensive histologic and immunohistochemical developmental ontogeny of human ovarian specimens from 8 weeks of gestation through 16 years of postnatal, we present a comprehensive immunohistochemical mapping of normal protein expression patterns in the early fetal through post-pubertal human ovary and detail a specific expression-based definition of the early stages of follicular development. Normal fetal and postnatal ovarian tissue is defined by the presence of follicular structures and characteristic immunohistochemical staining pat-terns, including granulosa cells expressing Forkhead Box Protein L2 (FOXL2). However, the current standard array of immunohistochemical markers poorly defines ovarian stromal tissue, and additional work is needed to identify new markers to advance our ability to accurately identify ovarian stromal components in gonadal specimens from patients with disorders of sexual differentiation.

Automated summary

Accurate diagnosis of the presence or absence of functional ovarian tissue in clinical specimens relies on a clear definition of normal human fetal and early postnatal ovarian development. By studying human ovarian specimens from 8 weeks of gestation through 16 years of postnatal, we have identified the protein expression patterns and stages of follicular development in the early fetal through post-pubertal human ovary. However, more research is needed to improve the identification of ovarian stromal components in patients with disorders of sexual differentiation.