title: Fourteen babies born after round spermatid injection into human oocytes.
abstract: During the human in vitro fertilization procedure in the assisted reproductive technology, intracytoplasmic sperm injection is routinely used to inject a spermatozoon or a less mature elongating spermatid into the oocyte. In some infertile men, round spermatids (haploid male germ cells that have completed meiosis) are the most mature cells visible during testicular biopsy. The microsurgical injection of a round spermatid into an oocyte as a substitute is commonly referred to as round spermatid injection (ROSI). Currently, human ROSI is considered a very inefficient procedure and of no clinical value. Herein, we report the birth and development of 14 children born to 12 women following ROSI of 734 oocytes previously activated by an electric current. The round spermatids came from men who had been diagnosed as not having spermatozoa or elongated spermatids by andrologists at other hospitals after a first Micro-TESE. A key to our success was our ability to identify round spermatids accurately before oocyte injection. As of today, all children born after ROSI in our clinic are without any unusual physical, mental, or epigenetic problems. Thus, for men whose germ cells are unable to develop beyond the round spermatid stage, ROSI can, as a last resort, enable them to have their own genetic offspring.
authors.affiliation: Saint Mother Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic, Institute for ART, Fukuoka 807-0825, Japan; incho@stmother.com yana@hawaii.edu.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Saint Mother Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic, Institute for ART, Fukuoka 807-0825, Japan;
authors.forename: Motoi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nagayoshi
authors.affiliation: Saint Mother Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic, Institute for ART, Fukuoka 807-0825, Japan;
authors.forename: Youichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takemoto
authors.affiliation: Saint Mother Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic, Institute for ART, Fukuoka 807-0825, Japan;
authors.forename: Izumi
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Faunal Diversity Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kobe University, Kobe 657-8501, Japan;
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kusunoki
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Science, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki 036-8562, Japan;
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan;
authors.forename: Keiji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan;
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu 431-3192, Japan;
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Biochemistry, University of Hawaii Medical School, Honolulu, HI 96822 incho@stmother.com yana@hawaii.edu.
authors.forename: Ryuzo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yanagimachi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D010064:Embryo Implantation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D042541:Intracellular Space / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D036801:Parturition; D012671:Seminiferous Tubules / Q000166:cytology; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; D013087:Spermatids / Q000166:cytology*; D013090:Spermatocytes / Q000166:cytology; D013091:Spermatogenesis; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: ROSI; azoospermia; human; male infertility; round spermatid