Study of mechanisms regulating folliculogenesis

Ovarian tissue cryopreservation is usually proposed to preserve fertility of patients at risk of premature ovarian failure after antineoplastic treatment. At present, ovarian tissue transplantation is the only option to restore fertility using cryopreserved ovarian tissue. However, this procedure has several limitations and the present project aims to develop in vitro follicles culture systems in order to produce embryos from stored ovarian tissue without graft.


The procedure has been achieved in mice but is still at the beginning in large mammals and in human. In our laboratory, follicular culture system has been largely studied in mice model and we have now developed research program investigating different aspect of human follicular activation in vitro in order to support follicle growth from primordial follicles to maturity. Recently, research projects focus on the role of PI3K/Akt/mTOR andHippo pathway in the activation of human or animal follicles in vitro.