Stem cells: A novel hope in cell-based therapy of infertility

Background: Infertility is a prevalent condition that has insidious impacts on couples, their life, and society, which extend far beyond the inability to have a biological child.Objective: In recent years, there have been several advances in the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility. However, current assisted reproductive techniques (ART) have failed to help infertile patients with non-obstructive azoospermia, unless donor sperm is used. During past few years a considerable progress in the derivation of male germ cells from pluripotent stem cells has been made.Materials and Methods: PubMed was searched for all experimental and clinical studies using the keywords stem cells , male infertility , spermatogenesis , embryo development and reproductive function .Results: Because of self-renewing and high differentiating potential of stem cells, they can be considered as new therapeutic agents for the treatment of infertility for individuals who don’t produce gametes to have a biological child. Stem cells can be stimulated in vitro to develop various numbers of specialized cells, including male and female gametes suggesting their potential use in reproductive medicine.Conclusion: This area of scientific endeavor holds great hope for infertile men wanting to father their own children. There seems to be every possibility that human male infertility can be reversed with stem cell research. Although the use of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is connected with many ethical concerns, there are no ethical issues regarding the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Moreover, ESCs are genetically unrelated to the patients, while it may be possible to get offspring with their own genetics by using iPSCs in derivation of functional male gametes. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying human male germ cell development are still poorly understood.

Keywords:

Stem cell , Infertility , Treatments