Abstract
PurposeTo study the quality of our human ovarian tissue cryopreservation technique as performed in the first official "International Fertility Protection Centre" in China in patients with certain cancer types using a mouse model, and to find the best site for tissue transplantation in the mouse.MethodsThirty-six BALB/C female nude mice were randomly divided into 3 groups, group 1: control group; group 2: ovariectomized group; group 3: ovarian tissue transplantation group. Seventy-two pieces obtained from six ovarian tissue samples from each of three cancer patients were transplanted into the ovarian bursa cavity (OBC), the subcutaneous thigh (TS) and the subcutaneous neck (NS) and removed after 1.5 and 2.5 months, respectively. Follicular growth rate (FGR), total follicle surviving rate (TFSR), tissue recovery rate (TRR), antral follicles (AF), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol (E2) and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels were measured.ResultsNo significant differences in FGR, OBC, NS (p > 0.05); TFSR was 100% in OBC, NS and TS. No significant differences in TRR (p > 0.05); AF were found only in OBC; TFSR was 100% after transplantation; significantly higher FGR in the 2.5 months compared to the 1.5 months-group (p < 0.05). AMH- and E2-level in group 1 and 3 were significantly higher than in group 2 (p < 0.05); in contrast, FSH was significantly lower.ConclusionsAfter transplantation in the mice, the thawed ovarian tissue survived and follicles developed. The ovarian fossa site was the best site for transplantation. Our animal experiments can verify that our human ovarian tissue cryopreservation technique can preserve the quality of ovarian tissue. This is the essential precondition for successful re-transplantation into the patients after performing chemo/radiotherapy to protect ovarian function and fertility.
Highlights
Several factors such as advanced diagnostic tools, early cancer detection, and aggressive cancer therapies have increased the current 5-year survival rate for adults and children (80%) [1, 2]
The main aim was to test the quality of the cryopreserved tissue in the mouse model after thawing, the second aim was to find the best site for transplantation into the mouse for daily routine, thereby verifying the quality of the cryopreservation and thawing technique in our laboratory
For practical reasons and because of the good blood supply, we chose the ovarian bursa cavity (OBC), the subcutaneous thigh (TS) and the subcutaneous neck (NS) as transplantation sites in our mouse model for testing the quality of tissues obtained from cancer patients within a prospective randomized three-arm study
Summary
Several factors such as advanced diagnostic tools, early cancer detection, and aggressive cancer therapies have increased the current 5-year survival rate for adults and children (80%) [1, 2]. Xenografting of human ovarian tissue to mice has already been proven to be an effective model to study ovarian function and follicle development in vivo [1]. For this reason, the aim of our study was to use xenotransplantation into mice to evaluate the quality and functionality of cryopreserved human ovarian tissue from cancer patients. For practical reasons and because of the good blood supply, we chose the ovarian bursa cavity (OBC), the subcutaneous thigh (TS) and the subcutaneous neck (NS) as transplantation sites in our mouse model for testing the quality of tissues obtained from cancer patients within a prospective randomized three-arm study. This time ranges between 1 week and 28 weeks [15], and we decided to choose a time between this range and divided the mice into two groups with 1.5 and 2.5 months transplantation, respectively
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