Fig. 2

Major molecular mechanisms and regulatory elements involved in the control of PGC depletion process in the embryonic ovary. The pathways regulated by KITLG and LIF, which are produced by granulosa cells, promote PGC survival through inhibition of apoptosis and stimulation of autophagy (left side of the figure). In the absence of KITLG, the intrinsic apoptosis pathway (with potential involvement of extrinsic apoptosis regulators) induces PGC death through apoptosis (right side of the figure). Orange circles with the letter “P” indicate protein phosphorylation, red crosses indicate the lack or suppression of certain regulators, and dashed elements indicate the regulators and connections that are not definitively confirmed up to date