Abstract:

In vitro follicle culture has important implications for preserving fertility in patients with the decreased ovarian function caused by cancer treatment. It is also an effective method for studying follicle development and oocyte maturation. In order to establish an in vitro culture system that can better simulate the in vivo growth environment, current in vitro follicle culture systems are roughly divided into two-dimensional and three-dimensional cultures. Two-dimensional follicle culture systems have been successfully established in rodent models. However, since three-dimensional culture can provide the spatial structure for follicular growth, the effect of three-dimensional culture is superior to that of two-dimensional culture. Therefore, three-dimensional culture has been widely used for the culture of follicles in various animal models. Three-dimensional culture systems can be divided into scaffold-based and scaffold-free culture systems, and the choice of scaffold material has a direct impact on in vitro follicle development. Scaffold materials can be classified into natural and synthetic materials according to their source. Natural materials, such as alginate, collagen and fibronectin, have better biocompatibility than synthetic materials, but the adjustability of synthetic materials makes them promising. This review summarizes the effects of choosing a three-dimensional culture system on in vitro follicle development.

Key words: Follicle, Oocytes, Cell culture techniques, Fertility, Stents, 3D cell culture system