Figure 5
Fetal irradiation of female KO mice may lead to sterility or more precocious ovarian failure than irradiation of WT females. (a) Two examples of ovarian cross sections from two different 3-month-old females irradiated with 0.5 Gy at E13.5. On the left, the ovarian organ structure is disorganized. As shown in the inset, tubule-like structures are formed. These structures have been associated with differentiation of the somatic granulosa cell in Sertoli like cells upon severe depletion in germ cells.36 On the right, a cross section of an ovary showing hyperplasia of a corpus luteus (*) and in the inset a remaining follicle. (b) Each irradiated WT female mouse exhibited a smaller ovary than the other one as shown in these cross sections. (c) Follicle counts revealed the absence of primordial follicles in the smallest ovary. Data are represented as mean±S.E.M; n=5. (d) Adult WT females irradiated as fetuses were all fertile (n=3) and showed similar litter size when continuously in presence of a WT non-irradiated male for several months. On the contrary KO-irradiated females (n=3) were sterile or still fertile but with smaller litter size either since the first litter or later
