Role of apoptosis and Fas/FasL system in the oogenesis of the spotted ray Torpedo marmorata

In the present paper we investigated the role played by apoptosis during oogenesis in the cartilagineous fish Torpedo marmorata. TEM, TUNEL and immunohistochemical techniques were employed to specifically reveal morphological and biochemical hallmarks of apoptosis in specimens from birth to sexual maturity. Data obtained demonstrate that apoptosis occurs in prefollicular oocyte selection, in maintaining the homeostasis of granulosa in healthy growing oocyte and in resorbing atretic follicles. In this respect, the involvement of apoptosis in Torpedo marmorata oogenesis closely parallels that found in mammals, thus confirming that strategies of germ cell selection among vertebrates have been evolutively preserved. (C) 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.