Transplantation of male germ line stem cells restores fertility in infertile mice.
Azoospermia or oligozoospermia due to disruption of spermatogenesis are common causes of human male infertility. We used the technique of spermatogonial transplantation in two infertile mouse strains, Steel (Sl) and dominant white spotting (W), to determine if stem cells from an infertile male were capable of generating spermatogenesis. Transplantation of germ cells from infertile Sl/Sld mutant male mice to infertile W/Wv or Wv/W54 mutant male mice restored fertility to the recipient mice. Thus, transplantation of spermatogonial stem cells from an infertile donor to a permissive testicular environment can restore fertility and result in progeny with the genetic makeup of the infertile donor male.
Ogawa
T
T
Department of Animal Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3850 Baltimore Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
Dobrinski
I
I
Avarbock
M R
MR
Brinster
R L
RL
D000818:Animals; D017690:Cell Transplantation; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006720:Homozygote; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / Q000235:genetics; D012671:Seminiferous Tubules / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology; D013091:Spermatogenesis; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000637:transplantation*; D019089:Stem Cell Factor / Q000235:genetics
D019089:Stem Cell Factor; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit