FIGURE 4.

In vivo EGF administration improves primordial follicle activation and the oocyte retrieval rate from iPOI ovaries. (A) The bilateral ovaries from each iPOI female were covered by Matrigel with or without EGF through ovarian bursa injection. After 2 weeks of treatment, a markedly increased number of growing follicles (arrowheads) was observed in the cortical regions of EGF‐treated ovaries compared to that of the control ovaries with majority of primordial follicles (arrows) (green: DDX4, purple: FOXL2, blue: Hoechst, n = 3). (B) Follicle counting results showed a significant increase in growing follicles in EGF‐treated ovaries compared to that of the controls (68 ± 7% vs 45 ± 5%) (n = 6). (C) Three weeks after EGF treatment, superovulation was performed to detect the oocyte retrieval rate in iPOI females. Histological analysis showed a markedly increased number of corpus luteum (asterisks) in EGF‐treated ovaries compared to controls (n = 13). (D) A significantly increased number of ovulated oocytes after superovulation was collected from EGF‐treated ovaries compared to that of controls (14 ± 4 vs 8 ± 2) (n = 13). In B and D, data represent the mean ± SD of biological triplicate experiments. ***P < .001, by two‐tailed unpaired Student's t test. Scale bars: 100 µm