Calcium alginate microencapsulation of ovarian follicles impacts FSH delivery and follicle morphology

Abstract

Background: We have previously shown that suspension culture prevents follicle flattening and maintains three-dimensional follicle architecture better than culture on flat plates. However, many of the follicles cultured in suspension do eventually rupture, as basement membrane integrity is lost and the three-dimensional structure of the follicle is altered. Therefore, the objective of this study is to support three-dimensional follicle architecture during in vitro growth of ovarian follicles through encapsulation in calcium alginate, while maintaining responsiveness to FSH stimulation.

Ovarian follicle culture: advances and challenges for human and nonhuman primates

“…Furthermore, its flexibility can accommodate cell proliferation, but its rigidity prevents dissociation of the 3-dimensional follicular unit. The rigidity of the alginate capsule affects follicle development as inhibition of growth and reduced steroidogenesis have been reported in murine follicles embedded in 1% alginate gels (62) whereas fully grown human (29) and macaque (27,28,30) oocytes have been produced using 0.5% and 0.25% gels, respectively. Indeed, a more rigid environment of 2% alginate supported macaque primordial follicle growth in vitro (42).…”

Three-dimensional systems for in vitro follicular culture: overview of alginate-based matrices

“…Encapsulation methods using hydrogels such as alginate have been applied to the in vitro culture of various tissues (Butcher and Nerem 2004;Azab et al 2006;Eyrich et al 2007), including ovarian follicles (Pangas et al 2003;Kreeger et al 2005;Xu et al 2006b). Alginate is a natural biopolymer extracted from brown algae and its absence of bioactivity, intrinsic biocompatibility and capacity for forming a gel with well-defined features have made it particularly useful for in vitro follicle culture (Heise et al 2005).…”

Alginate Matrix of MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cell 3D Culturing Alters CD44 and CD24 mRNA Levels and Induces ALDH1 Expression

“…They found that cells were viable and spread in both 2% alginate and 0.5% in alginate-RGD (arginine-glycine-aspartic acid peptide-contains cell adhesion ligands) hydrogels during 6 days. Once alginate derived from natural source, it exhibits an inherent biocompatibility [37] and is also physicochemically well defined to provide a stable culture system without interfere with cellular functions [25,38]. Alginate matrix modulates and supports several biological processes, including the transport of bioactive agents, such as growth factors and hormones [32,33].…”