“…Moreover, we suggest that ethanol, a small molecule that is entirely miscible in water and reasonably soluble in lipids (Ju'nior, Chiarello, Bernardes, & Vannucchi, 1998), could more easily pass across the cell membrane of isolated follicles than the ovarian slices cultured in vitro ( in situ culture). Although ethanol in high concentrations negatively affects folliculogenesis (Dees, Dissen, Hiney, Lara, & Ojeda, ; Srivastava, Hiney, Dearth, & Dees, ), conversely, in low concentrations (7‐9% ‐ v/v) it is used to activate oocytes parthenogenetically (Hou et al, ; Kharche et al, ) through an increases in the concentration of cytoplasmic calcium ions (Ca 2+ ‐ Liu et al, ). The Ca 2+ inside the cell acts as a second messenger, regulating important cellular events (Stull, ).…”