Human ovarian surface epithelial cells are capable of physically restructuring extracellular matrix.

Abstract

After ovulation the human ovarian surface epithelium proliferates at the wound edges, migrates over the ovulatory defect, and contributes to its repair primarily by the action of proteolytic enzymes and by the deposition of new matrix material. We examined the potential for human ovarian surface epithelial cells to physically remodel extracellular matrix in culture, similar to collagen gel lattice contraction by fibroblasts, a well-known culture model for wound repair, as an additional role of human ovarian surface epithelium in wound repair. Human ovarian surface epithelium cells from ovarian biopsies of 11 patients were grown in culture and plated onto a combination of collagen gel and rat ovarian surface epithelial-derived extracellular matrix. The degree of matrix contraction was measured as the percentage of the original culture diameter. Human ovarian surface epithelial cells surrounded and contracted the combination of matrices into a dense matrix organoid. The degree of organoid contraction was related to the number of human ovarian surface epithelial cells plated per organoid and to the inclusion of fibroblasts within the collagen gel but was not affected either by adding epidermal growth factor and hydrocortisone to the culture medium or by reducing the serum component of the medium. Human ovarian surface epithelial organoids may be useful for the study of normal and abnormal ovarian events such as ovulatory wound repair and cyst formation.