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Updated: May 19, 2026
Vitrification of Ovarian Cortex Tissue to Achieve a Glassy State of Aggregation
Published on: August 9, 2024
Vitrification and xenografting of human ovarian tissue
Christiani Andrade Amorim1, Marie-Madeleine Dolmans, Anu David
1Pôle de Recherche en Gynécologie, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Objective:
To assess the efficiency of two vitrification protocols to cryopreserve human preantral follicles with the use of a xenografting model.
Design:
Pilot study.
Setting:
Gynecology research unit in a university hospital.
Patient(S):
Ovarian biopsies were obtained from seven women aged 30-41 years.
Intervention(S):
Ovarian tissue fragments were subjected to one of three cryopreservation protocols (slow freezing, vitrification protocol 1, and vitrification protocol 2) and xenografted for 1 week to nude mice.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
The number of morphologically normal follicles after cryopreservation and grafting and fibrotic surface area were determined by histologic analysis. Apoptosis was assessed by the TUNEL method. Morphometric analysis of TUNEL-positive surface area also was performed. Follicle proliferation was evaluated by immunohistochemistry.
Result(S):
After xenografting, a difference was observed between the cryopreservation procedures applied. According to TUNEL analysis, both vitrification protocols showed better preservation of preantral follicles than the conventional freezing method. Moreover, histologic evaluation showed a significantly higher proportion of primordial follicles in vitrified (protocol 2)-warmed ovarian tissue than in frozen-thawed tissue. The proportion of growing follicles and fibrotic surface area was similar in all groups.
Conclusion(S):
Vitrification procedures appeared to preserve not only the morphology and survival of preantral follicles after 1 week of xenografting, but also their ability to resume folliculogenesis. In addition, vitrification protocol 2 had a positive impact on the quiescent state of primordial follicles after xenografting.
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