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

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. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the beneficial effect of l-carnitine on mouse ovaries following heterotopic autotransplantation. Mice were randomly divided into three groups (six mice per group): control, autografted and autografted+l-carnitine (200mg/kg daily intraperitoneal injections). Seven days after ovary autografting, the serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 were measured. Ovary histology, serum concentrations of progesterone and estradiol were also measured 28days after autotransplantation. Data were analysed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey test, and the means were considered significantly different at P