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| via newscientist.com |
"Belgian researchers have taken important steps towards creating transplantable artificial ovaries. Once successful, these could be of value to women struggling with infertility or cancer patients who cannot conceive after undergoing radiation or chemotherapy.
The research team has identified a protein formulation that closely resembles the structure and rigidity of the natural tissue lining a woman's ovaries, says Marie-Madeleine Dolmans of the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, in an article in Springer's Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics.
Through cryopreservation, it is already possible to store a cancer patient's ovarian tissue and to transplant it back into her body once her cancer treatment has been completed and she has gone into remission. The technique has already helped 130 mothers who survived cancer to conceive and give birth (NEJM, 2017, Oct 26, Donnez and Dolmans).
Such treatment is, however, not advisable for patients who have a risk of malignant cells in their frozen ovarian tissue. In that case, ovarian tissue cannot be re-implanted because of the chances that their cancer could return. Developing a transplantable artificial ovary with isolated follicles from their tissue could therefore offer these women more possibilities for them to conceive.
The first step in the process is to remove and freeze some ovarian tissue before a woman starts cancer treatment. When needed, follicles (producers of hormones such as oestrogen and the precursors of mature female egg cells) are isolated from the ovarian tissue and encapsulated within a scaffold made of fibrin that is grafted to the patient.
This hopefully restores the patient's hormonal and reproductive functions. In previous studies, Dolmans' research team used a type of filamentous protein around which blood clots form called fibrin to construct the necessary artificial ovary tissue scaffolding or matrixes..."
Learn more:
The research team has identified a protein formulation that closely resembles the structure and rigidity of the natural tissue lining a woman's ovaries, says Marie-Madeleine Dolmans of the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, in an article in Springer's Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics.
Through cryopreservation, it is already possible to store a cancer patient's ovarian tissue and to transplant it back into her body once her cancer treatment has been completed and she has gone into remission. The technique has already helped 130 mothers who survived cancer to conceive and give birth (NEJM, 2017, Oct 26, Donnez and Dolmans).
Such treatment is, however, not advisable for patients who have a risk of malignant cells in their frozen ovarian tissue. In that case, ovarian tissue cannot be re-implanted because of the chances that their cancer could return. Developing a transplantable artificial ovary with isolated follicles from their tissue could therefore offer these women more possibilities for them to conceive.
The first step in the process is to remove and freeze some ovarian tissue before a woman starts cancer treatment. When needed, follicles (producers of hormones such as oestrogen and the precursors of mature female egg cells) are isolated from the ovarian tissue and encapsulated within a scaffold made of fibrin that is grafted to the patient.
This hopefully restores the patient's hormonal and reproductive functions. In previous studies, Dolmans' research team used a type of filamentous protein around which blood clots form called fibrin to construct the necessary artificial ovary tissue scaffolding or matrixes..."
Learn more:
