Techniques for the isolation of ovarian follicles and maturation of oocytes in vitro have enormous reproductive potential. Preservation of normal tissue function is vital. This study emphasizes the ultrastructure and viability of mechanically isolated bovine small (diameter 40-100 microm) preantral and large (140-450 microm) preantral/early antral follicles. Viability studies were performed for...

BACKGROUND Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age and is characterized by chronic anovulation. Insulin resistance may be a key component of the pathogenesis of this disorder. Pioglitazone is a thiazolidinedione derivative that acts by improving insulin resistance via the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) pathway. Reported...

The aim of this study was to investigate whether GH and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) are involved in preantral folliculogenesis and, if so, to clarify the relationship between GH/IGF-I and activin/follistatin (FS) systems in immature female mice. Ovaries were obtained from 11-day-old mice, and preantral follicles, 100-105 microm in diameter, were mechanically isolated and selected for c...

Aneuploidy tests are important in evaluating genetic hazards especially when chemical exposures are suspected to affect the fidelity of chromosome segregation in oocytes and embryos. In the current study, a newly established method, mouse preantral follicle culture, was employed to grow oocytes in vitro within follicles. The sensitivity of in vitro grown follicle enclosed oocytes was compared w...

background: leukemia inhibitory factor (lif) is a pleiotropic cytokine of interleukin-6 family with a remarkable range of biological actions such as proliferative effects on the granulosa and theca cells. the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of lif on the growth and maturation of mouse fresh and vitrified preantral follicles, an in vitro model was developed. methods: the ovaries of...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate fibroblast co-culture on in vitro maturation and fertilization of prepubertal mouse preantral follicles. MATERIALS AND METHODS The ovaries of 12-14 day old mice were dissected and 120-150 μm intact preantral follicles with one or two layers of granulosa cells, and round oocytes were cultured individually in α-minimal essential medium (α-MEM) su...

Intra-ovarian regulation of follicular maturation is modulated by various factors. Among these, growth factors are important local actors. We examined the immunohistochemical localization of transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) in 18 human ovaries. The concentration of TGF-alpha and EGF in follicular fluid was m...

objective: ovarian and follicle transplantation may preserve fertility in young cancer survivors. in this study, we have transplanted preantral follicles using fibrin gel as a carrier and fibrin gel supplemented with platelet lysate (pl) as a rich source of angiogenic and growth factors. the purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of fibrin gel and pl in follicle transplantation. materia...

Although hormonal regulation of ovarian follicle development has been extensively investigated, most studies concentrate on the development of early antral follicles to the preovulatory stage, leading to the successful use of exogenous FSH for infertility treatment. Accumulating data indicate that preantral follicles are under stringent regulation by FSH and local intraovarian factors, thus pro...

background: one of the most major obstacles of ovarian tissue vitrification is suboptimal developmental competence of follicles. matrix metalloproteinases 2 (mmp-2) and 9 (mmp-9) and their tissue inhibitors timp-1 and timp-2 are involved in the remodeling of the extracellular matrix in the ovaries. objective: this study aimed to evaluate the expression of mmp-2, mmp-9, timp-1, and timp-2 genes ...