Sustained spermatogenesis in adult males and fertility recovery following germ cell depletion are dependent on undifferentiated spermatogonia. We previously demonstrated a key role for the transcription factor SALL4 in spermatogonial differentiation. However, whether SALL4 has broader roles within spermatogonia remains unclear despite its ability to co-regulate genes with PLZF, a transcription ...

Background The present study was designed to evaluate the survival and proliferation of spermatogonial stem cells from cryptorchid mouse testis in co-culture system over a 3 weeks period. MaterialsAndMethods Sertoli and spermatogonial cells were isolated from bilateral cryptorchid mouse model testes. Isolated spermatogonial cells were co-cultured with Sertoli cells in minimal essential medium (...

NANOS is known to be required for germline cell development in a variety of animal species and for the maintenance of germline stem cells in Drosophila. The recent study by Sada et al. has demonstrated that NANOS2, one of the three mammalian homologues, is required intrinsically for maintaining adult mouse spermatogonial stem cell self-renewal.

BACKGROUND Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs), a subset of undifferentiated type A spermatogonia, are the foundation of complex process of spermatogenesis and could be propagated in vitro culture conditions for long time for germ cell transplantation and fertility preservation. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was in vitro propagation of human spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) and improvement of ...

In mammals, the biological activity of the stem/progenitor compartment sustains production of mature gametes through spermatogenesis. Spermatogonial stem cells and their progeny belong to the class of undifferentiated spermatogonia, a germ cell population found on the basal membrane of the seminiferous tubules. A large body of evidence has demonstrated that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic ...

Spermatogonial stem cell transplantation was first reported by Ralph Brinster's laboratory in 1994. It has proven to be a technological breakthrough in the study of both stem cells and Sertoli cell-germ cell interactions. This technique can be used to transfer testicular stem cells successfully from one animal to another of the same species (referred to as syngeneic transplants) and sometimes t...

Germ cell development begins with the characteristics of the primordial germ cells (PGCs) early in human fetal life. PGCs arise from the proximal epiblast and will replace to the extra embryonic mesoderm during the fourth and fifth week of embryonic development. By the finish of the fifth week to early sixth week, PGCs will embark for a second immigration via the dorsal mesenterium of the gut t...