Introduction: 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 and can therefore be used to improve follicular survival and ovarian structure following transplantation. Methods: 18 Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) mice (4–5 weeks old) were divided into 3 groups (n=6): control, autograft and autograft+L-carnitine (200mg/kg daily intrapritoneal injections). 28 days after transplantation, ovaries were removed and studied stereologically. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey test, and the means were considered significantly different at P<0.05. Results: The mean umber of primordial, primary, and preantral as well as antral follicles significantly reduced in the autograft group compared to the control group, whereas these parameters were significantly higher in the autograft+L-carnitine group compared to the autograft group. The mean total volume of the ovary and the mean volume of the cortex and medulla decreased significantly in the autograft group compared to the control group. Meanwhile, a significant increase in the mean total volume of the ovary and the volume of the medulla and cortex was observed in the autograft+L-carnitine group compared to the autograft group. Conclusion: Our results indicated that L-carnitine can ameliorate the ischemia-reperfusion injuries on the mice ovarian tissue following autotransplantation.
