Heterogeneous cell population derived from waste human ovarian follicular fluid: morphological and functional characterization of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells.

The origin of oocytes and primary follicles in ovaries of adult mammalian females is still a matter of dispute. The components of new primary follicles, primitive granulosa and germ cells, differentiate sequentially and de novo from mesenchymal progenitor cell residing in the ovarian tunica albuginea. It appears that mesenchymal progenitor cells contribute to the generation of epithelial cells similar to granulosa cells. The multipotency of a subset of granulosa cells was also established by in vitro differentiation into other cell types. The aim of this work was to investigate the morphological and functional characteristics of cell populations collected from human ovaries after routine procedures for in vitro fertilization. The cells grow in minimal medium condition, without any growth factor, including leukemia-inhibiting factor (LIF), that is considered essential according to previously reported procedures. The interest in this study is to use waste biological liquid picked-up during human assisted reproduction techniques as a new possible source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to use in in vitro oocytes maturation methods.