Generating sperm from 23 years old frozen stem cells

Testicular cryopreservation is an experimental method used to preserve gonadal tissue of pre-pubertal boys or men whose fertility is likely to be compromised due to chemotherapy treatment. A recent study on rats shows that viable sperm can be produced from cryopreserved spermatogonial stem cells (SSC) after 23 years of storage – a discovery that offers …

Read more

Single cell sequencing enables novel insights to unravel human testicular tissue heterogeneity

Testis tissue is very complex and heterogeneous as it is made up of several somatic (Leydig, Sertoli, peritubular myoid cells and others) and germ cell types (spermatogonia, spermatocytes and spermatids). Due to the high number of different cell types, histological and molecular studies have always been challenging. As an example, the use of bulk RNA …

Read more

World’s first approval for testicular re-implantation to restore fertility of childhood cancer survivors

Prof. Ellen Goossens from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), in cooperation with the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (UZ Brussel), received the ethical approval to re-implant previously frozen testicular tissue in male cancer survivors who lost their fertility because of childhood cancer treatments. If successful, sperm cells will develop in the implanted tissue to restorethe fertility ofthese patients. Childhood cancer survival rates …

Read more