Ovarian function 6years after cryopreservation and transplantation of whole sheep ovaries

Arav, A.; Gavish, Z.; Elami, A.; Natan, Y.; Revel, A.; Silber, S.; Gosden, R.G.; Patrizio, P.

doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2009.10.019

« Previous Next »Reproductive BioMedicine Online
Volume 20, Issue 1 , Pages 48-52, January 2010

Ovarian function 6years after cryopreservation and transplantation of whole sheep ovaries

A. Arav
- Institute of Animal Science, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel
- A Arav and Z Gavish contributed equally to this work.
- Corresponding author.
Z. Gavish
- Institute of Animal Science, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel
- A Arav and Z Gavish contributed equally to this work.
A. Elami
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel
Y. Natan
- Core Dynamics, Ness Ziona, Israel
A. Revel
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel
S. Silber
- Infertility Center of St. Louis, St. Luke’s Hospital, St. Louis, MO, USA
R.G. Gosden
- CRMI Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY 10021, USA
P. Patrizio
- Yale University Fertility Center, New Haven, CT, USA

Received 30 March 2009; received in revised form 21 May 2009; accepted 16 October 2009. published online 07 December 2009.

Declaration: The authors report no financial or commercial conflicts of interest.

Abstract

Whole ovary cryopreservation and transplantation has been proposed as a method for preserving long-term ovarian function. This work reports ovarian function 6years post transplantation of frozen–thawed whole sheep ovaries. Three 9-month-old Assaf sheep underwent unilateral oophorectomy to provide organs for the experiments. After perfusing with cold University of Wisconsin solution supplemented with 10% dimethyl sulphoxide, ovaries were cryopreserved using unidirectional solidification freezing technology. After thawing, ovaries were re-perfused and re-transplanted orthotopically by microvascular re-anastomosis, to the contralateral ovarian pedicle after removing the remaining ovary. Six years following transplantation and after inducing superovulation, the sheep were killed and the ovaries analysed. Two ovaries had normal size and shape showing some recent corpora lutea, while the third showed atrophic changes. A total of 36 antral follicles were counted by transillumination and four germinal vesicle oocytes were aspirated and matured in vitro to metaphase II. Serum progesterone concentrations were indicative of ovulatory activity in one of the three sheep. Histological evaluations revealed normal tissue architecture, intact blood vessels and follicles at various stages. Currently, this is the longest recorded ovarian function after cryopreservation and re-transplantation. Cryopreservation of whole ovaries, using directional freezing combined with microvascular anastomosis, is a promising method for preserving long-term reproductive capacity and endocrine function.

Keywords: anastomosis, cryopreservation, directional freezing, transplantation, whole ovary

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Dr Arav received his bachelor degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, his veterinary degree at the University of Bologna, Italy, and his PhD in the area of cryobiology and thermodynamics via a joint program between the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Bologna. He completed his post-doctoral studies at UC Davis and holds a position at the Volcani Center as senior scientist in the field of cryobiology and reproduction. Dr Arav established IMT Ltd, Israel and has developed various issued patents. He has published over 100 papers and book chapters and received many awards.