Author: Michael J Buckenmeyer, Meena Sukhwani, Aimon Iftikhar, Alexis L Nolfi, Ziyu Xian, Srujan Dadi, Zachary W Case, Sarah R Steimer, Antonio D’Amore, Kyle E Orwig, Bryan N Brown
Title: A bioengineered in situ ovary (ISO) supports follicle engraftment and live-births post-chemotherapy
Summary: Female cancer patients who have undergone chemotherapy have an elevated risk of developing ovarian dysfunction and failure. Experimental approaches to treat iatrogenic infertility are evolving rapidly; however, challenges and risks remain that hinder clinical translation. Biomaterials have improved in vitro follicle maturation and in vivo transplantation in mice, but there has only been marginal success for early-stage human follicles. Here, we developed methods to obtain an ovarian-specific extracellular matrix hydrogel to facilitate follicle delivery and establish an in situ ovary (ISO), which offers a permissive environment to enhance follicle survival. We demonstrate sustainable follicle engraftment, natural pregnancy, and the birth of healthy pups after intraovarian microinjection of isolated exogenous follicles into chemotherapy-treated (CTx) mice. Our results confirm that hydrogel-based follicle microinjection could offer a minimally invasive delivery platform to enhance follicle integration for patients post-chemotherapy.
Source: J Tissue Eng. 2023 Nov 17:14:20417314231197282. doi: 10.1177/20417314231197282. eCollection 2023 Jan-Dec.