From Stem To Sperm: The Latest Fertility Research
July 16, 2009 by Andrea Toochin
Filed under Current Events
The Dirt:
The creation of a sperm cell from bone marrow is something we’d imagine finding its way into a romantic comedy, but this news alert is no movie trailer. Professor Karim Nayernia, formerly of the Germany’s University of Göttingen and now of Newcastle University and the North-east England Stem Cell Institute, has isolated the mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow taken from male volunteers. The cells were cultured in a lab and “coaxed” into becoming male reproductive cells, known as germ cells.
The professor and his team produced research that showed the presence of partially developed sperm cells, or spermatagonial stem cells, which are an early phase of the male germ cell development. However, the study did not result in the creation of “mature” function sperm. Still, the continued research works toward creating a science that might one day help humans with reproductive issues.
“We’re very excited about this discovery, particularly as our earlier work in mice suggests that we could develop this work even further,” said Nayernia. “Our next goal is to see if we can get the spermatagonial stem cells to progress to mature sperm in the laboratory and this should take around three to five years of experiments. I’ll be collaborating with other NESCI scientists to take this work forward.”
Nayernia added that a long process of scientific investigation is required, within a reasonable ethical and social framework, to take the research to the next level and see if it has the ability to be applied to human fertility treatments. He gained recognition in July 2006, when he and colleagues created sperm cells from mouse embryonic stem cells and used them to fertilize mice eggs, resulting in seven live births. We can only imagine the media frenzy that would erupt if his research goes in the direction he hopes. But, we think this kind of science is worth supporting and could change the lives of many.
Where:
To learn more about the research, click here.
