vitrification does not increase the incidence of apoptosis and caspase 3/7 activity in human ovarian tissues

objective: this study aimed to evaluate the incidence of apoptosis in vitrified and non-vitrified human ovarian tissue by the use of morphological analysis and apoptosis assay techniques. methods: we obtained human ovarian tissue biopsies from 30 women who underwent elective caesarean sections. tissues were transported to the laboratory in pre-warmed, equilibrated leibovitz l-15 medium within 2 hours. the tissues were cut into small pieces and divided into two groups, vitrified and non-vitrified (control). apoptosis incidence was assessed by light microscope and the tunel assay and dna laddering. evaluation of caspase 3/7 protein levels was performed by the luminescent assay. results: we observed no morphological signs of apoptosis in the vitrified samples. there were no apoptosis signals as evidenced by tunel staining and no dna laddering pattern observed in the vitrified group. caspase 3/7 activity was 2294±169.19 rlu/µg protein in the non-vitrified control group and 2231±89.271 rlu/µg protein in the vitrified group, which was not significantly different. conclusion: the structure of human vitrified ovarian tissue was well preserved. vitrification could not increase apoptosis and caspase 3/7 activity in human ovarian tissue.