Abstract: Objective To observe the effect on different doses of Fletcher’s adjuvant to B6AF1 mice with autoimmune premature ovarian failure (POF) induced by zona pellucida 3 peptide (pZP3). Methods Autoimmune POF models were established in 60 female B6AF1 mice (6-8 weeks old) by immunization with pZP3 and another 20 mice served as control group. The POF models were randomly divided into incomplete Freund’s adjuvant group, complete Freund’s adjuvant group (1 mg/mL) and incomplete Freund’s adjuvant + tuberculosis (TB) group (3.3 mg/mL). The HE staining ovary histomorphology results were observed by the microscope. Results Compared with those in control group, the mice in the model group showed a smaller volume of the ovary, and larger amount of atretic follicle of ovary. Immunohistochemical studies showed that the model mice had redundant lymphocytes infiltrating around follicle compared with control mice. The immunological effect of incomplete Freund’s adjuvant +TB (3.3 mg/mL) group was the best, followed by complete Freund’s adjuvant group. Conclusion Different concentrations of Freund’s adjuvant combined with zona pellucida 3 polypeptide (pZP3) can induce autoimmune premature ovarian failure (POF) in B6AF1 mice. High concentration of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has the best effect.

Key words: Premature ovarian failure (POF), Freund's adjuvant;, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB)