L-Carnitine improves follicular survival and function in ovarian grafts in the mouse

Context. Ovarian tissue transplantation is performed to preserve fertility in patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, the ischemia-reperfusion injury which occurs after the ovarian tissue transplantation causes follicular depletion and apoptosis. L-Carnitine has antioxidant and anti-inflammation properties. Aims. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the beneficial effect of L-carnitine on mouse ovaries following heterotopic autotransplantation. Methods. Mice were randomly divided into three groups (six mice per group): control, autografted and autografted + L-carnitine (200 mg/kg daily intraperitoneal injections). Seven days after ovary autografting, the serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 were measured. Ovary histology, serum concentrations of progesterone and estradiol were also measured 28 days after autotransplantation. Data were analysed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey test, and the means were considered significantly different at P < 0.05. Key results, In the autografted + L-carnitine group, the total volume of the ovary, the volume of the cortex, the number of follicles, the serum concentrations of IL-10, estradiol and progesterone significantly increased compared to the autografted group. In the autografted + L-carnitine group, serum concentrations of IL-6, TNF-alpha and MDA were significantly decreased compared to the autografted group. Conclusions. Our results indicated that L-carnitine can ameliorate the consequences of ischemia-reperfusion on the mice ovarian tissue following autotransplantation.