Application of Scaffold in Ovarian Transplantation for Female Fertility Preservation: an in vivo Transgenic Mouse Model (II)

Ovarian tissue cryopreservation and autotransplantation is a promising option for female fertility preservation. The post-transplantation ischemia is the major problem leading to graft damage. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) can induce angiogenesis, and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) can protect ovarian grafts from ischemic reperfusion injury. We use scaffolds served as vehicles for drug delivery to promote the graft survival. Ovaries from 8-week-old FVB/N-Tg(PolII-Luc)Ltc transgenic mice with or without membranous scaffolds containing VEGF or S1P were transplanted under the back skin or the peritoneum of wild-type mice. The graft survival was tracked in vivo by bioluminescence imaging (BLI) for 5 weeks. Intense signals were observed in the ovaries with VEGF- and S1P-loaded scaffolds. We demonstrated that membranous scaffolds loaded with VEGF and S1P can promote ovarian graft survival. Histological examination showed more follicles and surrounding vessels in S1P group compared with other groups. The above indicated better survival of the grafts using S1P-loaded scaffolds.