Scientists gain new insight into female 'biological clock' that governs fertility

A recent study has shed light on the mystery of the biological clock that governs fertility and has increased knowledge about molecular mechanisms that governed development in human eggs that could be applied to clinical treatment of female infertility in the years to come.

According to scientists, one factor that has marked the onset of menopause was influenced by the point at which the uterus would run out of eggs to release.

Professor Kui Liu's research team has provided a signaling pathway in granulosa cells that played a key role in enabling immature eggs to survive as eggs in the uterus would need nourishment and support from the granulosa cells of the primary follicle.

The mTOR signaling pathway in the granulosa cells was necessary for activating expression of the kit ligand growth factor, which subsequently binds to the c-kit receptors of eggs and determines their fate.

Researcher has said that this mechanism permitted the granulosa cells to decide when eggs would begin to grow and when they would die. In that sense, they could serve as a kind of biological clock that monitors the onset of menopause.

Researchers believe that the discovery will point the way to interventions that stimulate the growth of eggs that have been unable to mature.