Fig. 3.

UC-MSCs facilitated follicle survival in a paracrine manner. a The activation of the PI3K-AKT pathway was measured in cultured ovaries from the control, VCD, VCD + Fib-CM, and VCD + MSC-CM groups by western blot. b Immunostaining showed the expression of cKit in ovaries from different groups after 4 days of culture. Scale bars = 50 μm. c H&E staining showing the ovarian morphology after 8 days of in vitro culture in the four groups. Scale bars = 100 μm. d The numbers of total follicles and e follicles at various stages were counted and compared after culturing for 8 days (n = 3 for each group) *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. f Western blot showing the DDX4 and SOHLH1 expression after 8 days of ovarian culture in the four groups