Morewood T, Getreu N, Fuller B, Morris J, Hardiman P
Institute for Women's Health, University College London, UK.
Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, UK.
Cryo Letters. 2017 Mar/Apr;38(2):137-144.
Ovarian tissue cryopreservation has the potential to improve fertility preservation for a growing number of patients undergoing sterilising therapy, particularly where oocyte or embryo cryopreservation is not suitable. However, its success is limited by significant follicular apoptosis upon thawing, and there is wide variation in thawing protocols used with little evidence of efficacy.
To determine the best warming rates to maintain tissue viability.
Ovarian tissue biopsies from 11 patients were taken with informed consent and divided into four pieces, which were allocated to either fresh assessment or to one of several freeze-thaw protocols. Cryopreservation was undertaken using a Stirling cycle cryo-cooler and cryopreserved samples were exposed to different warming protocols. Tissue conservation was then assessed using a marker, neutral red, to identify viable follicles.
The results showed greatest follicle conservation rates in fresh samples, followed by those thawed using a rapid thawing protocol (Protocol 1). Tissue thawed using an ultra fast protocol (Protocol 2) and slow warming (Protocol 3) resulted in greater follicle loss.
These preliminary results indicate thawing conditions significantly affect follicle conservation in cryopreserved human ovarian tissue.
卵巢组织冷冻保存有可能改善越来越多接受绝育治疗患者的生育力保存情况，特别是在卵母细胞或胚胎冷冻保存不适用的情况下。然而，其成功率受到解冻时显著的卵泡凋亡限制，并且所使用的解冻方案差异很大，几乎没有疗效证据。
确定维持组织活力的最佳复温速率。
在获得知情同意后，采集11例患者的卵巢组织活检样本，并将其分成4块，分别用于新鲜评估或几种冻融方案之一。使用斯特林循环低温冷却器进行冷冻保存，并将冷冻保存的样本暴露于不同的复温方案。然后使用中性红标记物评估组织保存情况，以识别存活的卵泡。
结果显示新鲜样本中的卵泡保存率最高，其次是使用快速解冻方案（方案1）解冻的样本。使用超快速方案（方案2）和缓慢复温（方案3）解冻的组织导致更多卵泡丢失。
这些初步结果表明解冻条件显著影响冷冻保存的人卵巢组织中的卵泡保存。
