Description
Mammalian females are born with a finite number of non-renewing primordial follicles, the majority of which remain in a quiescent state for many years. Due to their non-renewing nature, these resting oocytes are particularly vulnerable to xenobiotic insult, resulting in premature ovarian senescence and the formation of dysfunctional oocytes. In this study we characterised the mechanisms of ovotoxicity for three ovotoxic agents, 4-Vinylcyclohexene Diepoxide (VCD), Methoxychlor (MXC), and Menadione (MEN), all of which target immature follicles. Neonatal mouse ovaries (PND3-4) were cultured in the presence of 4-Vinylcyclohexene Diepoxide (50uM), Methoxychlor (50uM), and Menadione (5uM) for 96 hours to observe their effects on the ovarian transcriptome. This was done in the hopes of gaining a better understanding of the mechanisms underpinning xenobiotic induced pre-antral ovotoxicity.