Some forms of male infertility currently have no solution, so those affected cannot have offspring. This is the case of men who suffer from non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), the most serious form of infertility in men, which is characterized by the absence of sperm in the seminal fluid expelled when ejaculating, due to decreased production of sperm in the seminiferous tubules, small tubes found inside the human testicles.
A team of scientists from the University of British Columbia (UBC), in Vancouver (Canada), led by Dr. Ryan Flannigan, assistant professor of urology at UBC, has carried out a study that may offer hope against infertility male, since they have managed to print human testicular cells in 3D, a technique that could offer a solution to men with forms of infertility that it is not yet possible to treat.
“Infertility affects 15% of couples, and male factors are a contributing cause in at least half of those cases,” says Dr. Flannigan, whose lab is at the Vancouver Prostate Center at General Hospital. from Vancouver. “We are 3D printing these cells into a very specific structure that mimics human anatomy, which we believe is our best chance to stimulate sperm production. If successful, this could open the door to new fertility treatments for couples who currently have no other options.”
If they get the testicular cells to produce sperm, they could potentially be used to fertilize an egg through in vitro fertilization.
There is surgery to find extremely rare sperm that is performed on some patients with NOA, but Dr. Flannigan warns that this procedure is only effective in 50% of cases. “Unfortunately, the other half of these people don’t have a choice, because we can’t find sperm for them.” And those are the patients they hope to help with the method they have tested in this research, which has been published in Fertility and Sterility Science.
‘Training’ imprinted cells to produce sperm
The researchers performed a biopsy to obtain stem cells from the testicles of a patient affected by NOA, which they subsequently 3D printed in a Petri dish into a hollow tubular structure similar to the seminiferous tubules that are responsible for producing sperm. Twelve days after printing, they found that the cells had not only survived, but had matured into several of the specialized cells involved in sperm production and had significantly improved maintenance of spermatogonial stem cells; both early signs of the ability to produce sperm.
“It is a great milestone to see how these cells survive and begin to differentiate. There is a long way to go, but this makes our team very hopeful,” said Dr. Flannigan, whose team is now working to train the imprinted cells to produce sperm. To do this, they will expose these cells to different nutrients and growth factors and regulate their structural arrangement to favor interaction between them.
If they get the cells to produce sperm, those sperm could potentially be used to fertilize an egg through IVF, providing a new fertility treatment option for couples. Dr. Flannigan’s research has also helped to reveal the genetic and molecular mechanisms involved in NOA to better understand the main causes of this disorder and identify new therapeutic alternatives.
“We are learning more and more that there are likely many different causes of infertility and that each case is very patient specific,” Flannigan explained. “With that in mind, we’re taking a personalized approach to precision medicine: We take cells from a patient, try to understand what abnormalities are unique to them, and then 3D print and support the cells in ways that overcome those original deficiencies.”
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