The impact of alpha lipoic acid on developmental competence of mouse vitrified pre-antral follicles in comparison to those isolated from vitrified ovaries

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).