Postnatal oogenesis leads to an exceptionally large ovarian reserve in naked mole-rats

Miguel Angel Brieño-Enríquez (), Mariela Faykoo-Martinez, Meagan Goben, Jennifer K. Grenier, Ashley McGrath, Alexandra M. Prado, Jacob Sinopoli, Kate Wagner, Patrick T. Walsh, Samia H. Lopa, Diana J. Laird, Paula E. Cohen, Michael D. Wilson, Melissa M. Holmes and Ned J. Place ()
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Miguel Angel Brieño-Enríquez: University of Pittsburgh
Mariela Faykoo-Martinez: University of Toronto
Meagan Goben: University of Pittsburgh
Jennifer K. Grenier: Cornell University
Ashley McGrath: Cornell University
Alexandra M. Prado: Cornell University
Jacob Sinopoli: Cornell University
Kate Wagner: Cornell University
Patrick T. Walsh: University of Pittsburgh
Samia H. Lopa: University of Pittsburgh
Diana J. Laird: University of California San Francisco
Paula E. Cohen: Cornell University
Michael D. Wilson: The Hospital for Sick Children
Melissa M. Holmes: University of Toronto
Ned J. Place: Cornell University

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Abstract In the long-lived naked mole-rat (NMR), the entire process of oogenesis occurs postnatally. Germ cell numbers increase significantly in NMRs between postnatal days 5 (P5) and P8, and germs cells positive for proliferation markers (Ki-67, pHH3) are present at least until P90. Using pluripotency markers (SOX2 and OCT4) and the primordial germ cell (PGC) marker BLIMP1, we show that PGCs persist up to P90 alongside germ cells in all stages of female differentiation and undergo mitosis both in vivo and in vitro. We identified VASA+ SOX2+ cells at 6 months and at 3-years in subordinate and reproductively activated females. Reproductive activation was associated with proliferation of VASA+ SOX2+ cells. Collectively, our results suggest that highly desynchronized germ cell development and the maintenance of a small population of PGCs that can expand upon reproductive activation are unique strategies that could help to maintain the NMR’s ovarian reserve for its 30-year reproductive lifespan.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36284-8

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