Isolated ovarian follicle culture: a promising strategy for fertility preservation

Ovarian tissue cryopreservation represents one among the most preferred strategies for fertility preservation currently. However, concerns regarding the transmission of malignant cells during the transplantion of stored ovarian tissues, is a major restraint in recommending the procedure to patients diagnosed with all kinds of malignant disorders. On the contrary, use of isolated follicles for restoration of fertility in such patients could completely evade the possibility of cancer re-introduction after treatment. Follicles housed in the ovarian environment in vivo prevail under the mechanical and the chemical/nutritional support of the ovary. Although not complete, recent knowledge about the dynamics of follicular progression has led to improvements in the culture system adopted. This review aims at summarising the culture of isolated follicles in vitro, particularly emphasising the efforts made to mechanically and nutritionally support the follicle. Advances in follicular culture systems could prove useful to highly improve the efficiency of current fertility restoration strategies and evade the concerns associated with the same.