'Artificial ovary' marks big step for fertility preservation

Researchers in Denmark have made the first steps towards creating an ‘artificial’ ovary in what could improve fertility preservation treatments.

A team from the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen developed a new technique for growing human follicles on a functioning bioengineered ovarian scaffold made of ovarian tissue which contains no cells.

The team took and froze ovarian tissue from patients scheduled to undergo treatment which would likely compromise their ovarian function.

Treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy often damage the ovaries and leave women infertile. This new method shows promise for women undergoing cancer treatments who are wanting to conceive after their treatment.

Women can currently undergo an ovarian tissue transplant, where some or part of the ovary is removed and frozen, then replanted when they reach remission. However, there is a risk that the frozen ovarian tissue may contain cancerous cells, meaning that the disease could return after the transplant.

In developing a bioengineered ovary without human cells, the team believe this would remove any chances of the cancer returning. The team developed the scaffold over three-days by using chemicals to strip the ovarian tissue of all of its cells. On this, the researchers seeded with hundreds of ovarian follicles, fluid-filled sacs that contains undeveloped eggs.

The team found that the ovarian follicles were able to survive on the decellularised scaffold, marking a first-time achievement and a step towards fertility preservation for women with cancer.

The work was described by Dr Susanne Pors from the Rigshospitalet's Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, who said: "This is the first time that isolated human follicles have survived in a decellularised human scaffold, and, as a proof-of-concept, it could offer a new strategy in fertility preservation without risk of malignant cell re-occurrence."

She added that the technique would be suitable to cancer patients and also those with other conditions that demand chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

The technique, she added, would be applicable to cancer patients having cryopreserved ovarian tissue transplanted for fertility restoration.

Ovarian tissue cryopreservation is now an established method of fertility preservation in Denmark. Pors says that the hospital has around 100 referrals a year, estimating that it represents around 80% of patients who could benefit from this type of treatment.

Speaking to The Guarian, Pors said: “This is the first proof that we can actually support these egg cells. It’s an important step along the road. But it will be many years before we can put this into a woman. It could take five to 10 years of work before artificial ovaries are ready for human trials.”