Adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cell transplantation at the graft site improves the structure and function of autografted mice ovaries: a stereological and biochemical analysis

Abstract Background Ovarian tissue autografting is a fertility restoration technique that is frequently used in young women with cancer who undergo radio/chemotherapy. A limiting factor in this technique is ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) damage. Because adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (ADMSCs) protect different ischemic tissues against I/R damage, we examined the effect of ADMSC transplantation at the graft site in mice ovary autografting. Method Mice were divided into three groups: control, autograft and autograft + ADMSCs. Seven days after ovary autografting and ADMSC transplantation, serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, total antioxidant capacity, serum concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 were measured. After 28 days, ovary histology, serum concentrations of progesterone and estradiol and apoptosis rate were also estimated. At 1–3 and 28 days post–ovary autografting and ADMSC transplantation, angiogenesis was detected. The results were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey test, and the means were significantly different at P ≤ 0.05. Result In the autograft + ADMSCs group, the total volume of the ovary, cortex and medulla ( P ≤ 0.001), the number of follicles, SOD activity, IL-10 ( P ≤ 0.001) and progesterone and estradiol ( P ≤ 0.01) concentrations significantly increased compared with the autograft group. Apoptosis rate, IL-6, TNFα and MDA concentrations in the autograft + ADMSCs group were lower than the autograft group ( P ≤ 0.001). The angiogenesis was accelerated and the localization of CD31-positive cells in the cortex was similar to the control group following ADMSC transplantation. Discussion ADMSC transplantation enhances the structure and function of grafted ovary.