BACKGROUND:

Cryopreservation of ovarian tissues and pre-antral follicles is a promising prospect for preservation of women fertility.

OBJECTIVE:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro developmental competence of mouse vitrified pre-antral follicles in comparison to isolated pre-antral follicles derived from vitrified ovaries in the presence of alpha lipoic acid (ALA).

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Pre-antral follicles derived from fresh, vitrified-warmed ovarian tissues and vitrified-warmed pre-antral follicles were cultured individually with or without ALA, followed by adding hCG to induce ovulation. The follicle growth, oocyte maturation, and embryo development were assessed.

RESULTS:

The diameter and development of follicles, oocyte maturation and embryo development rates were significantly higher in ALA supplemented groups compared to the respective ALA-free conditions groups. Aforementioned parameters were significantly higher in vitrified-warmed follicles in comparison to follicles derived from vitrified-warmed ovaries.

CONCLUSION:

These findings support a superior performance of pre-antral follicles when vitrified rather than when isolated from vitrified ovaries with regard to increasing the rates of developmental parameters. Moreover, ALA improves the in vitro maturation of pre-antral follicles in vitrified and non-vitrified samples. This article extracted from M.Sc. thesis. (Sahar Hatami).