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We, therefore, employed an in vitro approach to investigate the effect of KITL on follicle survival, oocyte growth, and follicle recruitment in rabbit ovarian cortical explants and neonatal mouse ovaries, and we found striking differences between the rabbit and mouse model systems regarding the effect of exogenous KITL supplementation on these parameters. In rabbit ovarian cortical explants treated with recombinant mouse KITL there was a significant and dose-dependent increase in oocyte diameter. The growth-promoting effects of KITL appeared to be particularly effective in follicles up to the preantral stage of development, at which point the influence of other factors may become more important. Alternatively, it is possible that the explant culture system employed did not fully support the development of later stage follicles, and, therefore, a role for KITL during later folliculogenesis cannot be ruled out. Since no increase in the activation of primordial follicles was observed in recombinant mouse KITL-treated explants, these data imply that another signal independent of KITL is required to coordinate primordial follicle activation in rabbits.