Hyperbaric Oxygen Preconditioning to improving tissue survival after re-transplantation: A translational study aimed at increasing chances to regain fertility after cancer treatment

Introduction:With an increasing number of young cancer survivors, fertility preservation is an important quality of life issue. Cryopreservation of ovarian tissue is the only established method that can be applied to young girls.

However, the method is far from perfect: most oocytes die in the retransplantation process due to hypoxia and Ischemia reperfusion injury (I/R-I).Aim:Our overall aim is to improve tissue survival and chances of regaining fertility after retransplantation by preconditioning the tissue.Method and materials:A 4-year experimental project using rodent, primate and human ovarian tissue.

A feasibility study of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO-PC), to alter gene expression and regulation of microRNA on mouse ovarian tissue was performed with promising preliminary results from “Next Generation Sequencing” and qPCR. Primate and human ovarian tissue have been treated and analysis is pending. At our laboratory, an in vitro culture system for ovarian follicles has been established.

Xenotransplantation using a SCID-mouse model, established at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, will be set up at our unit through research collaboration.

We have ethical approval for both human and animal studies.Significance:Within our group and through a strong collaboration network we have a unique model for translational research aiming at improving tissue survival and chances of regaining fertility after cryopreservation and retransplantation that is established in clinical practice.