Reconstruction In vitro of Mammalian Oogenesis

Female in vitro gametogenesis (IVG) has recently undergone a conceptual revolution following the successful generation of functional oocytes in mouse models from pluripotent stem cell-derived primordial germ cell-like cells (PGCLCs). However, despite these major advances, translation toward human IVG remains extremely limited because the developmental mechanisms governing ovarian niche formation, meiotic progression, and germ-somatic interactions remain poorly understood outside murine systems. The project addresses this critical gap by proposing the large animal fetal ovary, sheep in our skills, as an intermediate translational model bridging murine developmental biology and human reproductive medicine. The developmental information generated from ovarian progression will guide the engineering of permissive ovarian niches capable of supporting human PGCLC meiotic progression and developmental competence.