Artificial human ovary invented

Researchers at Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital have invented the first artificial human ovary, an advance that provides a potentially powerful new means for conducting fertility research and could also yield infertility treatments for cancer patients, the Science Daily reported Wednesday.

The team has already used the lab-grown organ to mature human eggs, the report said.

Sandra Carson, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Women & Infants Hospital, said, "An ovary is composed of three main cell types, and this is the first time that anyone has created a 3-D tissue structure with triple cell line," according to the report.

Carson was quoted as saying that the ovary not only provides a living laboratory for investigating fundamental questions about how healthy ovaries work, but also can act as a testbed for seeing how problems, such as exposure to toxins or other chemicals, can disrupt egg maturation and health.

Stephan Krotz, a Houston fertility doctor who is the paper's lead author and a former fellow in Carson's lab, said clinically, the artificial ovary could play a role in preserving the fertility of women facing cancer treatment in the future, according to the Science Daily.

사상 최초로 인공 난소 만들어

미국 브라운 대학 여성-신생아 병원 연구팀은 난포막세포 (theca cell), 과립막세포 (granulosa cell), 난모세포(oocyte) 등 난소를 구성하는 3가지 세포로 난소의 3차원 조직구조를 만들어 냈으며 이 인공난소는 미성숙 난자를 성숙시키는 난소 본연의 기능을 수행했다고 밝힌 것으로 연합통신이 사이언스 데일리를 인용 보도했다.

브라운 대학 산부인과전문의 샌드러 카슨(Sandra Carson) 박사는 이 인공 난소는 무엇보다 난포막세포-과립막세포-난모세포의 상호작용을 포함, 난소의 기능을 연구하는 데 요긴하게 사용될 수 있을 것이며 나아가 여성 암환자가 항암화학요법을 받기 전 채취해 냉동보관해 둔 미성숙 난자를 나중에 필요할 때 이 인공 난소에서 완전한 난자로 성숙시켜 사용할 수도 있을 것이라고 말했다.

이 연구결과는 보조생식-유전학 저널(Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics) 최신호에 발표되었다.