Abstract: Approximately 90% of malignant ovarian cancers are epithelial and thought to arise from a single cell layer called ovarian surface epithelium (OSE). Methods to culture OSE have become available only recently,because there were no appropriate animal models. The objective of this article is to review biological characterization and in vitro culture of ovarian surface epithelium cells and variation in OSE characterization among species.

Key words: ovarian cancers; ovarian surface epithelium; biological characterization; cell culture