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Culture of human ovarian tissue in xeno-free conditions using laminin components of the human ovarian extracellular matrix

  • Fertility Preservation
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Abstract

Purpose

Our purpose was to identify human ovarian extracellular matrix (ECM) components that would support in vitro culture of human ovarian tissue and be compatible with possible future clinical applications. We characterized ovarian expression of laminins and selected three laminin tripeptides for culture experiments to be compared with Matrigel, an undefined and animal-based mixture of ECM components.

Methods

Expression of the 12 laminin genes was determined on transcript and protein levels using cortical tissue samples (n = 6), commercial ovary RNA (n = 1), follicular fluid granulosa cells (n = 20), and single-cell RNA-sequencing data. Laminin 221 (LN221), LN521, LN511, and their mixture were chosen for a 7-day culture experiment along with Matrigel using tissue from 17 patients. At the end of the culture, follicles were evaluated by scoring and counting from serial tissue sections, apoptosis measured using in situ TUNEL assay, proliferation by Ki67 staining, and endocrine function by quantifying steroids in culture media using UPLC-MS/MS.

Results

Approximately half of the cells in ovarian cortex expressed at least one laminin gene. The overall most expressed laminin α-chains were LAMA2 and LAMA5, β-chains LAMB1 and LAMB2, and γ-chain LAMC1. In culture experiments, LN221 enhanced follicular survival compared with Matrigel (p < 0.001), whereas tissue cultured on LN521 had higher proportion of secondary follicles (p < 0.001). LN511 and mixture of laminins did not support the cultures leading to lower follicle densities and higher apoptosis. All cultures produced steroids and contained proliferating cells.

Conclusions

LN221 and LN521 show promise in providing xeno-free growth substrates for human ovarian tissue cultures, which may help in further development of folliculogenesis in vitro for clinical practices. The system could also be used for identification of adverse effects of chemicals in ovaries.

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Availability of data and material

Data related to patient samples cannot be shared due to ethical and personal data protection restrictions. All materials (except human ovarian tissue) are commercially available.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all patients who donated their ovarian tissue and follicular fluid, without which this study would not have been possible. We would also like to thank the midwives and clinicians who assisted with patient recruitment and logistics of tissue collection. We acknowledge Richelle Duque Björvang and Magdalena Wagner for their valuable input in writing of this manuscript. We thank Raoul Kuiper and Tarja Schröder from the Morphological Phenotype Analysis facility, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, for H&E stains and tissue scans.

Funding

This study was funded by research grants from Swedish Research Council (#2017-02316), Swedish Research Council FORMAS (#2015-00623 and #2016-02031), and Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation (#PR2017-0044).

Author information

Author notes

  1. J. Hao

    Present address: Clinical Research Center for Women’s Reproductive Health in Hunan province, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, People’s Republic of China

  2. M. O. D. Sjödin & J. Lindberg

    Present address: Division Bioscience and Materials -Chemicals & Pharmaceutical Safety, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, 15257, Södertälje, Sweden

  3. B. Niklasson

    Present address: Sophiahemmet University, 11428, Stockholm, Sweden

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Reproductive Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    J. Hao

  2. Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, 14186, Stockholm, Sweden

    J. Hao, A. R. Tuck, C. R. Prakash, B. Niklasson, K. Pettersson, O. Hovatta & P. Damdimopoulou

  3. Karolinska Institute, Unit of Toxicology Sciences, Swetox, 15257, Södertälje, Sweden

    A. R. Tuck, M. O. D. Sjödin, J. Lindberg & P. Damdimopoulou

  4. Bioinformatics and Expression Analysis Core Facility, Karolinska Institute, 14186, Stockholm, Sweden

    A. Damdimopoulos

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Contributions

JH: preparation of samples, experimental design, data collection and analysis, and drafting of the manuscript; AT: data analysis and drafting of the manuscript; CH: TUNEL experiments and data analysis; AD: bioinformatic analyses; MODS and JL: steroid analysis; BN and KP: coordination of sample collection; OH: experimental design and interpretation of data; PD: preparation of samples, experimental design, data analysis, and writing of the manuscript. All authors participated in the writing of the manuscript and approved the final article.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. Hao.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Stockholm Region Ethics Board (license numbers 2010/549-31/2 and 2015/798-31/12).

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in the study.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Code availability

The code used to plot laminin expression in single-cell RNA-seq data is available upon request. The original RNA-seq data is described in Wagner et al. Nat Comm 2020 and has been deposited in the ArrayExpress database at EMBL-EBI under the accession code E-MTAb-8381.

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Hao, J., Tuck, A.R., Prakash, C.R. et al. Culture of human ovarian tissue in xeno-free conditions using laminin components of the human ovarian extracellular matrix. J Assist Reprod Genet 37, 2137–2150 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-020-01886-4

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