{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T02:37:09Z","timestamp":1789699029921,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]],"date-time":"2025-10-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1759276800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Council for Development of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Technologies","award":["11\/54216"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["11\/54216"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.mdpi.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Biology"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: An artificial ovary has emerged as a novel alternative approach to prevent the reintroduction of cancerous cells after ovarian tissue autotransplantation. This study evaluates the ability of decellularized Wharton\u2019s jelly (dWJ) to facilitate human ovarian follicle growth in a xenotransplantation model. Materials and Methods: Two transplanted groups were established; one consisted of a decellularized Wharton\u2019s jelly\/alginate (dWJ\/Alg) composite, and an alginate (Alg) group was used as the control group. Each artificial ovary received approximately 20 partially isolated viable human ovarian follicles, subsequently undergoing xenotransplantation into ovariectomized, non-immunodeficient NMRI mice. Grafts were extracted at 1, 2, 4, or 5 weeks for comprehensive histological and immunohistochemical evaluations. Additionally, mouse blood serum was collected for hormonal analysis. Results: H&amp;E staining confirmed granulosa cell proliferation and follicle growth in dWJ\/Alg after 1 week of grafting. While human ovarian-like structures and cell proliferation were visible in other grafts, follicles were not observed. Conversely, immunohistochemical staining for Vimentin, Ki67, and CD45 confirmed the presence of human cells, proliferative cells, and inflammatory cells, respectively. However, hormonal assays revealed no significant difference in estrogen or progesterone levels between the experimental groups. Conclusions: It seems that Wharton\u2019s jelly\/alginate hydrogel can be used as an artificial niche for simulating the ovarian environment, effectively supporting the growth of xenotransplants of isolated human follicles.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biology14101340","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]],"date-time":"2025-10-01T07:58:13Z","timestamp":1759305493000},"page":"1340","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Wharton\u2019s Jelly Hydrogel: An Innovative Artificial Ovary for Xenotransplantation of Isolated Human Ovarian Follicles"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-6334-9226","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Farnaz","family":"Tajbakhsh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Developmental Biology, University of Science and Culture, Tehran 1461968151, Iran"},{"name":"Department of Embryology, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran 1665659911, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2066-6937","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Somayeh","family":"Tavana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Embryology, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran 1665659911, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5709-4277","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammad","family":"Kazemi Ashtiani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cell Engineering, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran 1665659911, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5074-2286","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ashraf","family":"Moini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Endocrinology and Female Infertility, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran 1665659911, Iran"},{"name":"Breast Disease Research Center (BDRC), Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran 1417935840, Iran"},{"name":"Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Arash Women\u2019s Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1653915981, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1794-0368","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christiani Andrade","family":"Amorim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"P\u00f4le de Recherche en Gyn\u00e9cologie, Institut de Recherche Exp\u00e9rimentale et Clinique, Universit\u00e9 Catholique de Louvain, B-1348 Brussels, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3871-5207","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rouhollah","family":"Fathi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Embryology, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran 1665659911, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"1","article-title":"Epidemiology, Detection and Management of Cancer: An Overview","volume":"Volume 19","author":"Arzmi","year":"2023","journal-title":"Deep Learning in Cancer Diagnostics"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"183","DOI":"10.1093\/noajnl\/vdab183","article-title":"Survival rates of children and young adolescents with CNS tumors improved in the Netherlands since 1990: A population-based study","volume":"4","author":"Hoogendijk","year":"2022","journal-title":"Neuro-Oncol. 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