Ovarian Stem Cells From Women With Ovarian Insufficiency

Early loss of human ovarian function results in a clinical condition known as primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) or premature ovarian failure (POF). This devastating condition renders women unable to have their own genetic child in more than 95% of cases (1), as well as failure of hormonal production by the ovary that is critical in maintaining bone health, restful sleep, and quality of life. Indeed, in more carefully designed studies where control groups were used, only 1.5% of POI patients became pregnant (2-8), which may more accurately represent the true fertility rate in this population. Currently, fertility treatments for these patients are primarily to use an egg donated from a young woman Until recently, it was thought that women were born with a limited number of eggs, which were slowly depleted each month until exhaustion at the time of menopause. However, recent studies have suggested that new eggs can be made from adult stem cells in the ovary. (1, 2) These ovarian stem cells could be transplanted into a recipient mouse, who then delivered donor derived offspring (3). Recently, ovarian germline stem cell (i.e., oogonial stem cell) isolation has been reported from human ovaries (12).(4). However, it is not known if oogonial stem cell problems play a part in diseases such as premature ovarian failure or diminished ovarian reserve. The goal of this protocol is to characterize oogonial stem cells in patients with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI)/failure (POF) and diminished ovarian reserve (DOR). There will be three groups in this study: patients with POI or POF undergoing ovarian biopsy by laparoscopy, patients with POI or POF undergoing clinically indicated abdominal surgery that provides access to the ovaries, and patients over 18 undergoing clinically indicated ovarian surgery (with or without POI or POF). Ovarian biopsies will be harvested by laparoscopy or at the time of indicated surgery, and oogonial stem cells will be isolated in the laboratory and characterized.