Experts Develop Sperm Cell from Primate Stem Cell | Dr. David Greene R3 Stem Cell

The field of stem cell therapy has grown to the point where it is a very promising and advanced scientific study issue. The advancement of medical procedures has sparked high hopes.

Stem cells are unique human cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types. From muscle cells to brain cells, this can happen. They can also repair damaged tissues in rare circumstances. Stem cell-based therapies, according to researchers like Dr. David Greene R3 Stem Cell, could one day be utilized to cure major disorders like paralysis and Alzheimer's disease.

A new study in spermatogonial stem cell research offers hope for future clinical therapies as global rates of male infertility continue to climb. The research, which was published in Fertility and Sterility Science, is the first to prove that primate embryonic stem cells can be used to make functional sperm cells in a dish.

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), have recently been shown to develop into germ cell lineages. The development of spermatogonia-like cells, primary and secondary spermatocyte-like cells, and haploid spermatid-like cells has been demonstrated in these investigations. Researchers have been unable to assess 'gold standards' for creating functioning gametes that can fertilize an egg due to ethical and legal problems.

Furthermore, earlier research has shown that sperm cells can be used to make live babies in rodents. Testicular grafts with primordial germ cells obtained from mouse embryonic stem cells were used to create these. However, biological and kinetic distinctions between rodents and humans may prohibit these findings from being applied to humans.

Deriving functional gametes from pluripotent stem cells  

In recent studies, researchers like Dr. David Greene R3 Stem Cell used a non-human primate, the rhesus macaque, to see if functioning gametes could be produced in vitro from pluripotent stem cells. For spermatogenesis, fertilization, early embryo and fetal development, Rhesus macaques and humans share biological pathways. They also have more human-like kinetics than rodents.

Using a modified serum-free spermatogonial stem cell culture medium, the researchers successfully differentiated non-human primate embryonic stem cells (nhpESCs) from rhesus macaques into advanced male germ cell lineages. The capacity of generated spermatid-like cells to fertilize rhesus macaque eggs was then tested. 

nhpESCs could be developed into advanced germ cell lineages, according to the researchers. Haploid spherical spermatid-like cells were among them (rSLCs). When injected into mature rhesus macaque oocytes, these cells were able to undergo DNA decondensation and pronucleus formation. These oocytes underwent embryonic division after being artificially activated. 

The researchers like Dr. David Greene R3 Stem Cell used a novel way to convert the cells into round spermatids, which are immature sperm cells. Fertilization within vitrospermatids, like fertilization with immature spermatids in vivo, necessitates the activation of the egg as well as the inclusion of other substances to allow the fertilized egg to develop into a healthy embryo. 

The researchers hope to implant these embryos into a surrogate rhesus macaque this fall to see if they can deliver a healthy kid using in vitro spermatids.