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Hormonal response in patients transplanted with cryopreserved ovarian tissue is independent of whether freezing was performed in childhood or adulthood

  • Fertility Preservation
  • Published:
Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

This study evaluated the concentrations of hormones resulting from the transplantation of ovarian tissue (OTT) in relation to whether the tissue was frozen at a time close to puberty or above the age of 19 years.

Methods

Six girls and adolescents (aged 9–14 years) who underwent ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) were followed after transplantation in adulthood. After OTT, the women were followed via regular blood samples to evaluate the concentrations of FSH, LH, oestradiol and AMH. Twenty-three women undergoing OTT (aged 19–36 years at the time of OTC) were included as a reference group. All of the women had postmenopausal levels of gonadotropins at the time of transplantation.

Results

The return of FSH and LH to normal premenopausal concentrations in adult women transplanted with ovarian tissue that was frozen at a time close to puberty was similar to the profiles in women from the reference group. Serum AMH levels were below the detection limit (via the Roche Elecsys assay) in many samples, but four out of six young girls showed measurable concentrations. Oestradiol similarly increased in the first 12 weeks following transplantation, after which it tended to be higher in women having frozen tissue in adulthood.

Conclusions

Ovarian tissue that was excised from girls at a time close to puberty, after which it was frozen and transplanted in adulthood, interacts with pituitary tissue in a similar manner to ovarian tissue that is frozen from adult women. Follicles located in the ovarian tissue from young girls are equally sensitive to gonadotropin stimulation as follicles from adult women when exposed to postmenopausal levels of gonadotropins. This result indicates that it is not the ovaries that require maturation to sustain full reproductive potential but rather proper FSH and LH stimulation. Moreover, these results support the continued use of OTC in young women.

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Funding

The EU interregional ReproUnion project, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Vera og Carl Johan Michaelsens Legat, Læge Sophus Carl Emil Friis og hustru Olga Doris Friis ́ Legat supported this study but had no role in the study design, collection and analysis of data, as well as no role in the data interpretation or in the writing of the report.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 82, DK-8200, Aarhus N, Denmark

    V. Greve Hornshøj, M. Dueholm & E. Ernst

  2. Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, Section 5712, The Juliane Marie Centre for Women, Children and Reproduction, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, DK-2100, Copenhagen N, Denmark

    L. S. Mamsen & C. Y. Andersen

Authors
  1. V. Greve Hornshøj
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  2. M. Dueholm
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  3. L. S. Mamsen
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  4. E. Ernst
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  5. C. Y. Andersen
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Contributions

CYA designed the study and drafted the paper. VGH and CYA conducted the data analyses. All of the coauthors contributed to the critical discussion and review of the manuscript, and all of the coauthors approved the final version of the article.

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Correspondence to C. Y. Andersen.

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Hornshøj, V.G., Dueholm, M., Mamsen, L.S. et al. Hormonal response in patients transplanted with cryopreserved ovarian tissue is independent of whether freezing was performed in childhood or adulthood. J Assist Reprod Genet 38, 3039–3045 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-021-02320-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-021-02320-z

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