In vitro evaluation of the anti-apoptotic drug Z-VAD-FMK on human ovarian granulosa cell lines for further use in ovarian tissue transplantation

Purpose Because ovarian granulosa cells are essential for oocyte survival, we examined three human granulosa cell lines as models to evaluate the ability of the pan-caspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethyl ketone (Z-VAD-FMK) to prevent primordial follicle loss after ovarian tissue transplantation. Methods To validate the efficacy of Z-VAD-FMK, three human granulosa cell lines (GC1a, HGL5, COV434) were treated for 48 h with etoposide (50 μg/ml) and/or Z-VAD-FMK (50 μM) under normoxic conditions. To mimic the ischemic phase that occurs after ovarian fragment transplantation, cells were cultured without serum under hypoxia (1 % O 2 ) and treated with Z-VAD-FMK. The metabolic activity of the cells was evaluated by WST-1 assay. Cell viability was determined by FACS analyses. The expression of apoptosis-related molecules was assessed by RT-qPCR and Western blot analyses. Results Our assessment of metabolic activity and FACS analyses in the normoxic experiments indicate that Z-VAD-FMK protects granulosa cells from etoposide-induced cell death. When cells are exposed to hypoxia and serum starvation, their metabolic activity is reduced. However, Z-VAD-FMK does not provide a protective effect. In the hypoxic experiments, the number of viable cells was not modulated, and we did not observe any modifications in the expressions of apoptosis-related molecules (p53, Bax, Bcl-xl, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)). Conclusion The death of granulosa cell lines was not induced in our ischemic model. Therefore, a protective effect of Z-VAD-FMK in vitro for further use in ovarian tissue transplantation could not be directly confirmed. It will be of interest to potentially use Z-VAD-FMK in vivo in xenograft models.