Effect of Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Combined With Urinary Bladder Matrix Scaffold on the Structure and Function of Autografted Rat Ovaries

Background: Ovarian transplantation has unique advantages in the preservation of female fertility, especially in young women with cancer who need chemotherapy. However, a large number of follicles are lost because of ischemia during ovarian tissue transplantation. While it has been reported that adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) accelerate angiogenesis, the transplanted ADSCs usually diffuse quickly from the target tissue. Urinary bladder matrix (UBM) is an extracellular matrix biomaterial that has a complete basement membrane and provides a foundation for transplanted cells to anchor, migrate, and function. In this study, ADSCs on UBM scaffolds (UBM/ADSCs) were transplanted during ovary autotransplantation in rats to test whether collagen/ADSCs have a better therapeutic effect than transplantation of ADSCs alone. Method: A total of 30 rats were divided into 5 groups of 6 rats in each . untreated-control, oophorectomy , autograft , autograft + ADSCs (ADSC) and autograft + UBM/ADSCs(UBM/ADSC). 28 days after ovary autografting, follicle number, serum concentrations of follicular stimulating hormone and anti-Mullerian hormone and apoptosis rate were also estimated. At 7and 28 days post ovary autografting, angiogenesis was detected. The estrous cycle recovery was measured.The results were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey test, and the means were significantly different at P< 0.05. Results: : The number of both growing follicles and primordial follicles in rats in the ADSC/UBM and ADSC groups was significantly higher than that in rats in the autograft group (P <0.05). Follicle stimulating hormone levels in rats in the ADSC/UBM group were significantly decreased and anti-Müllerian hormone levels increased compared to control rats (P <0.05). Apoptosis rate in the UBM/ ADSC group was lower than the autograft group (P<0.05). The angiogenesis was accelerated following ADSC/UBM transplantation.Rats in the ADSC/UBM and ADSC groups showed better estrous cycle recovery than rats in the autograft group (P<0.05). Conclusions: : UBM increases the retention of ADSCs in ovaries and contributes to long-term restoration of ovarian function. UBM/ADSC transplantation may be a promising candidate for ovarian transplantation.