A previously overlooked function of the ovary could birth new innovation in the world of fertility. Meghan Willcoxon explores the discovery in a recent issue of Science News.
🧲The horseshoe factor: the rete ovarii For years, we’ve primarily seen ovaries as the powerhouses of egg production and hormone release (think estrogen and progesterone, long tapped for their use in fertility treatments, birth control, and hormone replacement therapies). In research in mice, developmental biologist Jennifer McKey at the University of Colorado in Aurora and colleagues shine a light on the rete ovarii. This horseshoe-shaped appendage was first described over a century ago and shown in early drawings in Gray’s Anatomy, and then dismissed as functionless and ignored until now. McKey’s team’s rediscovery may have implications for women’s reproductive health treatments.
💉Fertility Frontiers
This discovery cracks open some intriguing commercial possibilities. For fertility startups, understanding more about the structure of the ovary could lead to innovative diagnostic tools and treatments. Improving IVF success rates or addressing unexplained infertility would be a game-changer. The ability to influence the local immune environment in the reproductive tract could be a further bonus.
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