Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 2, 2026
Liver Cold Storage and Transplantation in the Cold-Adaptive Daurian Ground Squirrels
Published on: July 3, 2025
Uterus tolerance to extended cold ischemic storage after auto-transplantation in ewes
Jérémy Tricard1, Sébastien Ponsonnard2, Yannick Tholance3
1Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and Angiology, Limoges University Hospital Center, 87000 Limoges, France; Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacovigilance, INSERM UMR S-850, Limoges, France; Equipe de Recherche Médicale Appliquée (ERMA), University of Limoges, 87000, France.
Objective:
To assess how the uterus tolerates extended cold ischemic storage before auto-transplantation in ewes.
Study Design:
Fourteen uterine auto-transplantations were performed in ewes from November 2014 to June 2015 at the Analysis and Research Laboratory of Limoges, France. The animals were divided into 2 groups: 7 after 3h of cold ischemia timeand 7 after 24h. Transplant was assessed ≥8days after transplantation. Histology and apoptosis analyses (TUNEL method and indirect immunohistochemistry of cleaved Caspase 3) were performed before uterus retrieval (control), after 90min following reperfusion and ≥8days after transplantation.
Results:
Twelve uterine auto-transplantations were successfully performed. The histological analysis at 90min following reperfusion revealed a moderate inflammation of the endometrium and serosa in the 3-h group and severe inflammation in the 24-h group, but no significant apoptotic signal was found in either group. Seven ewes were alive at ≥8days after transplantation: the macroscopic and histological analyses revealed two viable uteri in the 3-h group and three in the 24-h group. In each group one uterus was necrotic.
Conclusion:
These first results in ewes suggest that the uterus is an organ with a good tolerance to extended cold ischemic storage before transplantation.
