Historically, research in ovarian biology has focused on folliculogenesis, but recently the ovarian stroma has become an exciting new frontier for research, holding critical keys to understanding complex ovarian dynamics. Ovarian follicles, which are the functional units of the ovary, comprise the ovarian parenchyma, while the ovarian stroma thus refers to the inverse or the components of the ovary that are not ovarian follicles. The ovarian stroma includes more general components such as immune cells, blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatic vessels, as well as ovary-specific components including ovarian surface epithelium, tunica albuginea, intraovarian rete ovarii, hilar cells, stem cells, and a majority of incompletely characterized stromal cells including the fibroblast-like, spindle-shaped, and interstitial cells. The stroma also includes ovarian extracellular matrix components. This review combines foundational and emerging scholarship regarding the structures and roles of the different components of the ovarian stroma in normal physiology. This is followed by a discussion of key areas for further research regarding the ovarian stroma, including elucidating theca cell origins, understanding stromal cell hormone production and responsiveness, investigating pathological conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), developing artificial ovary technology, and using technological advances to further delineate the multiple stromal cell types.

中文翻译：

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卵巢基质作为新领域


从历史上看，卵巢生物学的研究主要集中在卵泡发生上，但最近卵巢基质已成为一个令人兴奋的研究新领域，掌握着理解复杂卵巢动力学的关键关键。卵巢卵泡是卵巢的功能单位，包含卵巢实质，而卵巢基质则指卵巢的反面或非卵泡的卵巢组成部分。卵巢基质包括更一般的成分，如免疫细胞、血管、神经和淋巴管，以及卵巢特异性成分，包括卵巢表面上皮、白膜、卵巢内网、肺门细胞、干细胞和大多数卵巢特异性成分。不完全表征的基质细胞，包括成纤维细胞样、纺锤形和间质细胞。基质还包括卵巢细胞外基质成分。这篇综述结合了关于正常生理学中卵巢基质不同成分的结构和作用的基础和新兴学术成果。接下来讨论了卵巢基质进一步研究的关键领域，包括阐明卵泡膜细胞起源、了解基质细胞激素的产生和反应性、研究多囊卵巢综合征 (PCOS) 等病理状况、开发人工卵巢技术以及使用技术进步进一步描述了多种基质细胞类型。