Fig. 3

Evaluation of the role of CEFFE in protecting ovarian function at the tissue level. A Representative micrographs of vessels in the medulla that were stained for CD31 (a) and quantitative vessel numbers in the different groups (b), (n = 6). The red arrows indicate blood vessels. Scale bar = 50 μm. B Representative micrographs showing follicles stained for Ki-67 (a) and quantitative analyses (b), (n = 6). Scale bar = 50 μm. C Representative micrographs of follicles stained for Cleaved-Caspase3 (a) and quantitative analysis (b) (n = 6). The red arrows indicate apoptotic cells. Scale bar = 50 μm. D GC apoptosis was measured by the TUNEL apoptosis test. Green fluorescence represents apoptotic cells, and blue fluorescence represents the nuclei of all cells. Scale bar = 100 μm. E TEM observations of ultrastructural changes in the ovary. a The ultrastructure of follicles. Scale bar = 10 μm. b The ultrastructure of the zona pellucida. The red arrow shows the material in the zona pellucida. Scale bar = 1 μm. c The ultrastructure of GCs. Scale bar = 2.5 μm or 0.5 μm. O: Oocyte, GCs: granulosa cells, Va: Vacuoles, ZP: Zona pellucida, LD: Liquid droplet, Go: Golgi complex, N: Nucleus, Ly: Lysosome, ASS: Autolysosome, M: mitochondria. Data are represented as the mean ± SD. ns: P > 0.05, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, compared with POI group