Current Progress in Stem Cell Therapy for Male Infertility

Abstract

Infertility has become one of the most common issues worldwide, which has negatively affected society and infertile couples. Meanwhile, male infertility is responsible for about 50% of infertility. Accordingly, a great number of researchers have focused on its treatment during the last few years; however, current therapies such as assisted reproductive technology (ART) are not effective enough in treating male infertility. Because of their self-renewal and differentiation capabilities and unlimited sources, stem cells have recently raised great hope in the treatment of reproductive system disorders. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can induce different numbers of specific cells, such as male and female gametes, demonstrating their potential application in the treatment of infertility. The present review aimed at identifying the causes and potential factors that influence male fertility. Besides, we highlighted the recent studies that investigated the efficiency of stem cells such as spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs), embryonic stem cells (ESCs), very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the treatment of various types of male infertility.

Keywords: Andrology; Azoospermia; Male infertility; Reproductive health; Stem cell transplantation; Stromal cells.