• Improved BALB/c mice granulosa cell functions using purified alginate scaffold
  • Azam soleimani,1,* Soghra Bahmanpour,2 Nehleh Zarei Fard,3 Tahereh Talaei-Khozani,4
    1. Stem Cell Research Laboratory, Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
    2. Stem Cell Research Laboratory, Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
    3. Stem Cell Research Laboratory, Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
    4. Stem Cell Research Laboratory, Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran


  • Introduction: Alginate, a non-toxic polysaccharide isolated from brown algae, is a widely used 3-dimensional (3D) porous scaffold for the granulosa cell and follicle encapsulation. However, impurities in commercial alginate can lead to alginate biocompatibility reduction. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro behavior of the granulosa cells seeded on the purified alginate in varying concentrations compared with matched non-purified ones.
  • Methods: We produced a purified alginate using a simple and efficient method. Then, the granulosa cells from mice were isolated and seeded in various concentrations of (0.5%, 1% weight/volume) purified and non-purified alginate. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used on the 3rd, 5th and the 8th days of culture as an index of cell viability and proliferation. Furthermore, the secreted estradiol, progesterone and alkaline phosphatase enzyme (ALP) were measured in the granulosa cells culture media using radioimmunoassay kits.
  • Results: The data from the current study showed that alginate purification improved the viability and proliferation of granulosa cells. In comparison with the non-purified ones, there was a significant increase in survival and proliferation rates after 8 days of seeding in the purified alginate. Our study also showed that, alginate concentration had an effect on the murine granulosa cell proliferation and function. After the 8th day, the viability of the granulosa cells, estradiol and progesterone production in the 0.5% purified alginate gel was higher than those cultured in 1% alginate.
  • Conclusion: The results confirmed the impact of the alginate hydrogel properties on proliferative rate and function of granulosa cells in a 3D culture system.
  • Keywords: Alginate, Granulosa cell, Purification, Scaffold