Scientists 3D-Print Ovaries To Allow Infertile Mice To Mate and Give Birth (theguardian.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Infertile mice have given birth to healthy pups after having their fertility restored with ovary implants made with a 3D printer. Researchers created the synthetic ovaries by printing porous scaffolds from a gelatin ink and filling them with follicles, the tiny, fluid-holding sacs that contain immature egg cells. In tests on mice that had one ovary surgically removed, scientists found that the implants hooked up to the blood supply within a week and went on to release eggs naturally through the pores built into the gelatin structures. The work marks a step towards making artificial ovaries for young women whose reproductive systems have been damaged by cancer treatments, leaving them infertile or with hormone imbalances that require them to take regular hormone-boosting drugs. Of seven mice that mated after receiving the artificial ovaries, three gave birth to pups that had developed from eggs released by the implants. The mice fed normally on their mother's milk and went on to have healthy litters of their own later in life. Writing in the journal Nature Communications, the scientists describe how they printed layered lattices of gelatin strips to make the ovary implants. The sizes and positions of the holes in the structures were carefully controlled to hold dozens of follicles and allow blood vessels to connect to the implants. Mature eggs were then released from the implants as happens in normal ovulation.

Comments

Re:Restoring fertility -

[dgatwood]

- to young women whose ovaries have been damaged by cancer treatments. Should we be restoring fertility to women who develop cancer at an early age? Unless they spend a lot of time around cancer-causing agents, it would be indicative of an hereditary condition.

For most cancers in general, that would probably be true, but not for cancer of the female reproductive system. Only about 20–25% of ovarian cancer is believed to be caused by a genetic predisposition (specifically by one of two relatively common gene mutations that also cause a genetic predisposition for breast cancer). And approximately 0% of cervical cancer is believed to be hereditary; rather, it is generally believed to generally be caused by the HPV virus. So no, it is not generally indicative of a hereditary condition.