Monolayer Culture of Ovarian Follicular Elements Derived from Isolated Mouse Follicles1

Intact ovarian follicles isolated by enzymatic dispersal from mouse ovaries have been explanted by simple tissue culture methods. The follicles lose their organotypic architecture after 2 days of cultivation and subsequently grow as monolayers containing two major cell types. These cultures produce, and release to the surrounding media, detectable quantities of estrogenic steroids. Addition of gonadotrophic hormones (FSH) to the culture media induce both increased mitotic activity and steroid synthesis by the cell cultures. When LH is present in the medium, either alone or in combination with FSH, increased steroid synthesis and release is observed. However mitotic activity is not significantly different than that seen in control cultures. The explants have been maintained for periods up to 30 days with good morphologic continuity. However, estrogenic steroids were detected only up to 20 days of culture in these studies.