University of Michigan researchers have developed an atlas of the human ovary, providing insights that could lead to treatments restoring ovarian hormone production and the ability to have biologically related children.
This deeper understanding of the ovary means researchers could potentially create artificial ovaries in the lab using tissues that were stored and frozen before exposure to toxic medical treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. Currently, surgeons can implant previously frozen ovarian tissue to temporarily restore hormone and egg production, but this does not work for long due to the low survival rate of follicles—the structures that produce hormones and carry eggs.
The new atlas reveals the factors that enable a follicle to mature, as most follicles wither away without releasing hormones or an egg. Using single-cell analysis tools, the team was able to identify the genes expressed in the oocytes, the immature precursors of eggs. This knowledge can be used to test whether affecting these genes could result in creating a functional follicle, potentially leading to the creation of an artificial ovary that could be transplanted back into the body.
"Now that we know which genes are expressed in the oocytes, we can test whether affecting these genes could result in creating a functional follicle. This can be used to create an artificial ovary that could eventually be transplanted back into the body," said Ariella Shikanov, corresponding author of the study published in Science Advances.
With the ability to guide follicle development and tune the ovarian environment, the team believes that engineered ovarian tissue could function for much longer than unmodified implanted tissue. This means that patients would have a longer fertility window as well as a longer period in which their bodies produce hormones that help regulate the menstrual cycle and support overall health.
This research is part of the Human Cell Atlas project, which seeks to create a comprehensive map of all the different cells in the human body, their molecular characteristics, and their locations, to better understand human health and disease.