Endogenous release of female hormones from co-microencapsulated rat granulosa and theca cells.

Deficiency of female hormones is the principal cause of menopausal syndrome. The aim of this study was to establish a co-microencapsulation model of ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) and theca cells (TCs), and to investigate its endogenous release of female hormones. Rat ovarian GCs and TCs were isolated and co-microencapsulated in alginate-chitosan-alginate microcapsules. The effects of cell number ratio of GCs/TCs on syntheses of estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) were investigated in vitro. Serum levels of E2 and P4 in ovariectomized rats were measured for 60 days after the co-microencapsulated GCs and TCs were transplanted. It was showed that E2 synthesis in vitro was influenced by cell number ratio of GCs/TCs and the ratio for the maximum synthesis was 1:2. Serum E2 and P4 levels could be maintained normal for 60 days by the co-microencapsulated GCs/TCs. Transplantation of co-microencapsulated GCs/TCs may be a promising approach to provide endogenous female hormones for menopausal syndrome.