Development and Survival of Human Ovarian Cells in Chitosan Hydrogel Micro-Bioreactor

oleh: Elsa Labrune, Cyrielle Fournier, Benjamin Riche, Laurent David, Alexandra Montembault, Sophie Collardeau-Frachon, Mehdi Benchaib, Jacqueline Lornage, Jean Iwaz, Bruno Salle

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-10-01

Deskripsi

<i>Background and Objectives:</i> To test the long-term ability of human ovarian cortex cells to develop in unconventional culture conditions. <i>Materials and Methods.</i> Ovarian cortex cells from fetuses aged 23 to 39 weeks gestation were cultured for 90 days in hollow chitosan hydrogel micro-bioreactors and concurrently in traditional wells. Various cell-type counts were considered. <i>Results</i>: With intact follicles as a denominator, the percentage of growing intact follicles at Day 0 varied widely between ovaries (0 to 31.7%). This percentage tended to increase or stay relatively constant in bioreactor as in control cultures; it tended more toward an increase over time in bioreactor vs. control cultures. Modeled percentages showed differences (though not significant) in favor of bioreactor cultures (16.12% difference at D50 but only 0.12% difference at D90). With all follicles present as a denominator, the percentage of growing primary and secondary follicles at D0 varied widely between ovaries (0 to 29.3%). This percentage tended to increase over time in bioreactor cultures but to decrease in control cultures. Modeled percentages showed significant differences in favor of bioreactor cultures (8.9% difference at D50 and 11.1% difference at D90). At D50 and D90, there were only few and sparse apoptotic cells in bioreactor cultures vs. no apoptotic cells in control cultures. <i>Conclusions</i>: Over three months, bioreactor folliculogenesis outperformed slightly traditional culture. This is an interesting perspective for follicle preservation and long-term toxicological studies.