• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Thursday, October 2, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

How men continually produce sperm — and How that discovery could help treat infertility

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
February 5, 2019
in Biology
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Using a leading-edge technique, researchers define the cell types in both newborn and adult human testes, opening a path for new strategies to treat male infertility with stem cells

IMAGE

Credit: UC San Diego Health


The production of sperm — otherwise known as spermatogenesis — generates more than 1,000 sperm per second in normal males. This productivity comes, in part, from a special cell type called the spermatogonial stem cell. The staying power of this stem cell has allowed many celebrities, including Robert DeNiro and Pablo Picasso, to father children after the age of 65.

Yet spermatogonial stem cells have not been well studied in humans, and attempts to grow them in the lab for clinical purposes have had limited success. In a study published February 5, 2019 in Cell Reports, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine used a technique called single-cell RNA sequencing to develop a clearer picture of human spermatogonial stem cells and how sperm are formed. They also developed tools to better isolate these stem cells.

This advance, the researchers write, opens the possibility that spermatogonial stem cell transplants could be developed to treat male infertility, an issue that affects more than 100 million men worldwide.

“Single-cell RNA sequencing determines the activity of hundreds of genes in the genomes of single cells,” said senior author Miles Wilkinson, PhD, professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine. “Because each cell type has a different combination of active genes, this technique allows new cell types to be identified. Applying this approach to the testis, we uncovered many different stages of sperm precursor cells in human testes.”

In adult human testes, the researchers identified several cell subtypes that likely include spermatogonial stem cells. They also found cells with the characteristics of spermatogonial stem cells in human newborns.

“Given that spermatogonial stem cells are not necessary for generating sperm until puberty, this finding in newborns raises the possibility that these cells perform as-of-yet unknown functions in infants and young children,” Wilkinson said.

Their study also identified many unique molecules — biomarkers — that define spermatogonial stem cells. These biomarkers, which they detected with specific antibodies, allowed the researchers to efficiently capture human spermatogonial stem cells.

Wilkinson’s team also identified the genes active in other cells that support spermatogonial stem cells. The finding may help researchers develop protein cocktails that drive spermatogonial stem cell proliferation in the laboratory, and allow them to scale up enough of the cells for clinical applications.

“This was a proof-of-principal for future clinical studies to use spermatogonial stem cell therapy as a means to treat men suffering from infertility, including cancer patients rendered infertile by chemotherapy,” said Wilkinson.

###

Co-authors of this study also include: Abhishek Sohni, Kun Tan, Hye-Won Song, Dana Burow, Louise Laurent, Tung-Chin Hsieh, UC San Diego; Dirk G. de Rooij, Utrecht University; Raja Rabah, Michigan Medicine, CS Mott and VonVoigtlander Women’s Hospitals; Saher Sue Hammoud, University of Michigan Medical School; and Elena Vicini, Sapienza University of Rome.

Media Contact
Heather Buschman
[email protected]
858-249-0456

Tags: Cell BiologyDevelopmental/Reproductive BiologyFertilityMedicine/HealthMolecular Biology
Share12Tweet7Share2ShareShareShare1

Related Posts

Atlas Reveals Testicular Aging Across Species

Atlas Reveals Testicular Aging Across Species

October 2, 2025
Stem Cell Reports Announces New Additions to Its Editorial Board

Stem Cell Reports Announces New Additions to Its Editorial Board

October 2, 2025

New Insights on Bluetongue Virus in South Asia

October 2, 2025

Ancient Ear Bones Rewrite the Story of Freshwater Fish Evolution

October 2, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    92 shares
    Share 37 Tweet 23
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    82 shares
    Share 33 Tweet 21
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    74 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • How Donor Human Milk Storage Impacts Gut Health in Preemies

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Movement Skills Boost Executive Function in Autistic Kids

Mayo Clinic Secures Up to $40 Million from ARPA-H to Advance Groundbreaking Air Safety Research

Atlas Reveals Testicular Aging Across Species

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 60 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.