# Engineering an immuno-isolating hydrogel for restoring ovarian endocrine function

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2022 · $400,756

## Abstract

Project Summary
Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a common complication of anticancer treatments, such
as chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation, due to treatment toxicity. In female cancer
survivors POI causes sterility, and loss of the ovarian endocrine function, which in turn results in
premature osteopenia, muscle wasting, and accelerated cardiovascular disease. These long-
lasting effects are significant, particularly for young girls reaching puberty. The long-term goal of
our research is to develop a means to restore ovarian endocrine function in young women with
POI by utilizing allogeneic transplantation of ovarian tissue. We designed an immuno-isolating
capsule based on well-characterized biomaterials and tuned to the unique physiology of ovarian
tissue. Our approach proved to be successful in mice using donor tissue from rodents, yet the
significant differences in ratio between stroma and follicles in human ovarian tissue, size that
human follicles reach at maturity and the balance between dormant and activated follicles
between rodents and humans require further investigation using human ovarian tissue. If
successful, this approach will offer a clinically relevant and unexplored tool to restore ovarian
endocrine function in young women with POI.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10378486
- **Project number:** 5R01HD104173-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Ariella Shikanov
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $400,756
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-30 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10378486

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10378486, Engineering an immuno-isolating hydrogel for restoring ovarian endocrine function (5R01HD104173-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10378486. Licensed CC0.

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