World-first Stem Cell Research Could Aid Male Infertility

Source: University of Newcastle upon Tyne via Medical News Today
Posted: July 12, 2006

Summary:

SCIENTISTS have shown for the first time that sperm grown from embryonic stem cells can be used to produce offspring.

The experiment was carried out using mice and produced seven babies, six of which lived to adulthood.

The breakthrough, reported July 10 in the academic journal Developmental Cell, helps scientists to understand more about how animals produce sperm. This knowledge has potential applications in the treatment of male infertility.

Stem cell researchers at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne developed a new strategy for generating mature sperm cells in the laboratory using embryonic stem cells from mice. They then went on to test whether this sperm would function in real life.

The team isolated stem cells from a blastocyst, an early-stage embryo that is a cluster of cells only a few days old.

These cells were grown in the laboratory and screened using a special sorting machine. Some had grown into a type of stem cell known as 'spermatogonial stem cells', or early-stage sperm cells.

The spermatogonial cells were singled out, then genetically marked and grown in the laboratory. Some of them grew into cells resembling sperm, known as gametes, which were themselves singled out and highlighted using a genetic marker.

The sperm that had been derived from the embryonic stem cells was then injectd into the female mouse eggs and grown into early-stage embryos.

The early-stage embryos were successfully transplanted into the female mice which produced seven babies. Six developed into adult mice.

The findings could also inform a field of stem cell research known as nuclear transfer, or therapeutic cloning, which aims to provide tailor-made stem cells to aid disease therapy and infertility. Sperm cells could potentially be created using this method.

Although previous studies have shown that embryonic stem cells grown in the laboratory can become germ cells that give rise to cells resembling sperm cells or gametes, this is the first time scientists have tested whether the gametes really work in real life.

Commentary: Maybe this finding can eventually yield successful fertility treatments in humans.