[Apoptosis and human reproduction]

Abstract

Apoptosis is a common form of physiological cell death that is essential to maintain homeostasis in human tissues and when deregulated, explains the physiopathological events in most diseases. This is true both in the ovary and uterus, two essential organs for human reproduction. The correct understanding of the role that this phenomenon carry out to regulate ovarian and uterine cellular populations and consequently to regulate reproductive physiology, might allow in the future the development of new strategies to treat infertility. This paper is a review of the current understandings about apoptosis and its involvement in human reproductive physiology.