Supplementation of transport and freezing media with anti-apoptotic drugs improves ovarian cortex survival.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian tissue preservation is proposed to patients at risk of premature ovarian failure, but this procedure still needs to be optimized. To limit injury during ovarian tissue cryopreservation, anti-apoptotic drugs were added to the transport and freezing media of ovarian cortex tissue. METHODS: Sheep ovaries were transported, prepared and frozen in solutions containing vehicle or anti-apoptotic drugs (Z-VAD-FMK, a pan-caspase inhibitor, or sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a bioactive lipid). After the tissue was thawed, the ovarian cortex was cultured for 2 or 6 days. Follicular quantification and morphological and proliferation analyses were performed on histological sections. RESULTS: After 2 days of culture, S1P improved the quality of primordial follicles; higher densities of morphologically normal and proliferative primordial follicles were found. Z-VAD-FMK displayed similar effects by preserving global primordial follicular density, but this effect was evident after 6 days of culture. This drug also improved cell proliferation after 2 and 6 days of culture. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that the addition of S1P or Z-VAD-FMK to the transport and freezing media prior to ovarian tissue cryopreservation improves primordial follicular quality and therefore improves global tissue survival. This should ultimately lead to improved fertility restoration after auto-transplantation.

Influence of mouse strain on ovarian tissue recovery after engraftment with angiogenic factor.

BACKGROUND: For women facing gonadotoxic treatment, cryopreservation of ovarian tissue with subsequent retransplantation during remission is a promising technique for fertility preservation. However, follicle loss within grafted ovarian tissue can be caused by ischemia and progressive revascularization. Several xenograft models using different immunodeficient rodent lines are suitable for studying ovarian tissue survival and follicular viability after frozen-thawed ovarian cortex transplantation. SCID mice, which are deficient for functional B and T cells, are the most commonly used mice for ovarian xenograft studies. However, due to incomplete immunosuppression, NOD-SCID mice displaying low NK cell function and an absence of circulating complement might be more appropriate. The present study aims to define the most appropriate immunodeficient mouse strain for ovarian tissue xenotransplantation by comparing ovarian graft recovery in SCID and NOD-SCID mice following engraftment in the presence of isoform 111 of vascular endothelial growth factor. METHODS: Sheep ovarian cortex fragments were embedded in a collagen matrix, with or without VEGF111, before being stitched onto the ovaries of SCID and NOD-SCID mice. Transplants were recovered after 3 days to study early revascularization or after 3 weeks to evaluate follicle preservation and tissue fibrosis through histological analyses. RESULTS: At day 3, vessels were largely reorganized in the ovarian grafts of both mouse strains. After 3 weeks, the cortical tissue was clearly identifiable in SCID mice but not in NOD-SCID mice. Upon VEGF111 treatment, vascularization was significantly improved 3 days after transplantation in SCID mice. This increase in vessel density was correlated with better follicular preservation in SCID mice 3 weeks after transplantation. Fibrosis was not decreased by VEGF treatment in either mouse strain. CONCLUSIONS: Tissue architecture and follicular morphology were better preserved in ovarian tissues grafted in SCID mice in comparison with NOD-SCID mice. Moreover, tissue revascularization was improved in SCID mice by VEGF111 graft treatment. Thus, we consider SCID mice to be the best murine model for studying ovarian tissue xenografts.

Strategies for using the sheep ovarian cortex as a model in reproductive medicine.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the distribution and density of primordial follicles within a whole sheep ovary and to gain insight into how to overcome the impact of natural follicular heterogeneity on the experimental results. DESIGN: Histological study. SETTING: Academic research center. ANIMALS: Five- to nine-month-old ewes. INTERVENTIONS: Freshly sampled whole sheep ovaries were collected and prepared for histological analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The follicular densities and distributions were determined for hematoxylin and eosin sections. A mathematical model was derived based on the follicle counts and Monte-Carlo simulations. RESULTS: Heterogeneous distributions and densities of primordial follicles were identified 1) for distinct areas of the same ovarian cortex, 2) between the ovaries of the same animal and 3) across different ewes. A mathematical model based on the analysis of 37,153 primordial follicles from 8 different ovaries facilitated the estimation of the number of cortical biopsies and sections that had to be analyzed to overcome such heterogeneity. CONCLUSION: The influence of physiological follicular heterogeneity on experimental and clinical results can be overcome when a definite number of cortical pieces and sections are taken into consideration.