Abstract
BACKGROUND: Human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs) exhibit a strong capability to restore ovarian function in chemotherapy-induced premature ovarian failure (POF). However, the therapeutic efficacy of hAECs is usually affected by the limited number and proliferative ability of grafted hAECs in target organs. The transplantation of stem cells encapsulated in sodium alginate-bioglass (SA-BG) composite hydrogel has recently been shown to be an effective strategy for tissue regeneration. The current study aims to investigate the therapeutic potential of hAECs or hAEC-derived conditioned medium (CM) encapsulated in SA-BG in mice with chemotherapy-induced POF. METHODS: C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally injected with chemotherapy drugs to induce POF. hAECs or CM were harvested and encapsulated in SA-BG composite hydrogel, which were transplanted onto the injured ovaries of mice with POF. Follicle development, granulosa cell function, and ovarian angiogenesis were evaluated by morphological methods. To further elucidate the effect of SA-BG-encapsulated hAECs/CM on vascularization, the tube formation of human umbilical vein epithelial cells (hUVECs) was conducted in vitro. Cytokine array and ELISA were used to analyze and quantify the effects of bioactive components released by SA-BG on the secretion of angiogenic factors by hAECs. RESULTS: The transplantation of SA-BG-encapsulated hAECs/CM restored follicle development, repaired granulosa cell function, and enhanced ovarian angiogenesis in POF mice. The further study showed that SA-BG significantly promoted the tube formation of hUVECs in vitro. Moreover, encapsulating hAECs could facilitate the effect of SA-BG on inducing the formation of the capillary tube in a paracrine manner. In addition, we found that SA-BG extracts significantly enhanced the viability of hAECs and stimulated the secretion of pro-angiogenic factors of hAECs. Notably, compared with SA-BG/CM, SA-BG/hAECs achieve better therapeutic effects, possibly because stimulation of BG enhanced the viability and paracrine capacity of hAECs. CONCLUSIONS: The present study initially demonstrates that SA-BG-encapsulated hAECs or CM can exert a therapeutic effect on chemotherapy-induced POF mainly by protecting granulosa cell function and enhancing ovarian vascularization, which might provide a novel strategy for the delivery of hAECs for treating POF.