The ultimate goal is to freeze the immature follicles, and then thaw and mature them in a culture to the point where they are ready to be fertilized.

"This is a very significant achievement because the early stage of the human ovarian follicle is really hard to grow in vitro. They're very fragile and delicate," said Min Xu, a co-author of the study.

As the immature egg grew inside the follicle, it produced hormones just as it would inside a woman's body.

However, if follicles could be removed from the tissue and grown in the laboratory successfully, then a new fertility preservation technique might become available for women who could not safely have an ovarian transplant.

The new advance was achieved by suspending the human ovarian follicle in two different kinds of three-dimensional gels.

Woodruff said that the discovery would enable researchers to understand how nurse cells (granulosa cells), the cells that support and surround the maturing egg, communicate with the egg.

And the information will help scientists understand how eggs grow and develop properly.

The study has been published in the journal Human Reproduction.

Source-ANI
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