Granulosa cells and their impact on human art

The body of knowledge regarding granulosa cell physiology offers an opportunity to improve human assisted reproduction. With the current understanding of granulosa cell/oocyte physiology, it is apparent that the granulosa cell (particularly cumulus cells) pathways are regulated by the oocyte, and the functional properties of the granulosa cells are reflective of oocyte quality. Traditional methods for oocyte and embryo selection for human assisted reproductive technologies (ART) rely on subjective morphological assessments. Biochemical assessment of follicles would generate additional objective information to better understand successful fertilization and embryo development. Cumulus cell co-culture has also been proposed to optimize embryo quality with in vitro fertilization (IVF) aside from the adjunct of in vitro maturation (IVM). In most mammalian species, including humans, the cumulus which surrounds the oocyte is still present at the time of fertilization and remains until embryonic implantation.