Ovart: assembly of artificial ovary

Assembly of an artificial ovary combining isolated human ovarian follicles, fibrin and a textile pocket

The objective of this project is the development of a 3D biodegradable matrix allowing the graft of autologous ovarian tissue or isolated follicles in patients with impaired fertility following a gonadotoxic treatment. This biofunctional fibrin-based matrix will limit the follicular loss due to post-transplant ischemic stress and will help to induce the formation of an extracellular ovarian-like matrix by promoting cell migration, cell proliferation and vascularization.

In addition, a biodegradable textile pocket will also be developed to contain the tissue scaffold and to efficiently suture the graft at the implantation site.

Consortium:

Companies:

• Baxter R&D Europe (coordinator)
• SMI

Research centers:

• Centexbel
• UCL (Laboratory of Gynecology)
• Ulg (Laboratory of Tumor and Development Biology)