Integration of mouse ovary morphogenesis with developmental dynamics of the oviduct, ovarian ligaments, and rete ovarii
Abstract
Morphogenetic events during development of the fetal ovary are crucial to the establishment of female fertility. However, the effects of structural rearrangements of the ovary and surrounding reproductive tissues on ovary morphogenesis remain largely uncharacterized. Using tissue clearing and lightsheet microscopy, we found that ovary folding correlated with regionalization into cortex and medulla. Relocation of the oviduct to the ventral aspect of the ovary led to ovary encapsulation, and mutual attachment of the ovary and oviduct to the cranial suspensory ligament likely triggered ovary folding. During this process, the rete ovarii elaborated into a convoluted tubular structure extending from the ovary into the ovarian capsule. Using genetic mouse models in which the oviduct and rete ovarii are perturbed, we found the oviduct is required for ovary encapsulation. This study reveals novel relationships among the ovary and surrounding tissues and paves the way for functional investigation of the relationship between architecture and differentiation of the mammalian ovary.
Data availability
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the manuscript and/or supplementary materials.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
National Institutes of Health (1R01HD090050-0)
- Dilara N Anbarci
- Blanche Capel
National Institutes of Health (R37HD30284)
- Alejandra E Ontiveros
- Richard Behringer
National Institutes of Health (R37HD039963)
- Corey Bunce
National Institutes of Health (K99HD103778)
- Jennifer McKey
American Cancer Society (130426-PF-17-209-01-TBG)
- Jennifer McKey
National Institutes of Health (1S10OD020010-01A1)
- Jennifer McKey
- Dilara N Anbarci
- Corey Bunce
- Blanche Capel
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Reviewing Editor
- Sofia J Araujo, University of Barcelona, Spain
Ethics
Animal experimentation: This study was performed in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. All experiments were conducted with the approval of the Duke University Medical Center Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC protocol # A089-20-04 9N).
Version history
- Preprint posted: May 22, 2021 (view preprint)
- Received: June 15, 2022
- Accepted: September 26, 2022
- Accepted Manuscript published: September 27, 2022 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: October 31, 2022 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2022, McKey et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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