(Reuters) – Egg cells can repair themselves from damage caused by radiation far better than doctors ever thought, a finding researchers say gives fresh hope in protecting women undergoing cancer therapy from infertility.
Although the experiments have only been in mice, researchers believe they have relevance for female cancer patients and women who suffer premature menopause, a condition that puts them at risk of early infertility, osteoporosis and heart disease.
In a paper to be published in the November 9 issue of the journal Molecular Cell, scientists in Australia found that egg cells, or oocytes, are killed not by radiation, but by two proteins — puma and noxa — which snap into action when they detect DNA damage to egg cells. Read full article.
