Effect of site of transplantation on follicular development of human ovarian tissue transplanted into intact or castrated immunodeficient mice.

OBJECTIVE: To study the response of human ovarian xenografts to transplantation into different sites and in different host conditions.
DESIGN: Controlled experiment.
SETTING: Academic research laboratory. PATIENT(S): Donated ovarian tissue from two young women. INTERVENTION(S): Human ovarian cortical pieces were transplanted either under the kidney capsule or to the subcutaneous space of intact or castrated male nonobese diabetic (NOD) severe combined immune-deficient (SCID) mice. Grafts were recovered after euthanasia. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Microscopic examination of histologic sections to determine proportions of growing follicles, and serum estradiol concentration measurements. RESULT(S): Six months after transplantation, ovarian grafts transplanted under the kidney capsule of intact male mice had significantly higher proportions of growing follicles compared with those recovered from the castrated/kidney capsule and intact/subcutaneous groups. However, no difference was detected between the intact/kidney capsule and the castrated/subcutaneous groups. Mean estradiol concentrations in serum were nonsignificantly increased in mice with ovarian grafts compared with those in mice without a graft. CONCLUSION(S): Follicular development in xenotransplanted human ovarian tissue is influenced by the site of transplantation and the condition of the host.