Stem Cells from Human Teeth may Help Treat Infertility in Men

Brazilian researchers say that stem cells from human teeth seem to grow into sperm when injected into the testes of mice.

Irina Kerkis of the Butantan Institute, Sao Paulo, and her colleagues believe that the findings may some day prove helpful in curing infertile men.

About Stem Cells
Encyclopedia section of medindia gives general info about Stem Cells

During the study, the researchers injected stem cells from the dental pulp of human teeth into the testes of live mice.

They said that the cells appeared to migrate to the tubules where sperm usually mature, and differentiate into cells resembling human sperm.

The researchers, however, conceded that the approach was inefficient.

Infertility - Causes - Diagnosis - Treatment - FAQs
Infertility is a condition wherein couples fail to achieve pregnancy or if the woman has been unable to carry a pregnancy that results in a live birth.

They found that some of the human cells fused with mouse cells, a problem that would have to be solved before the technique could be used therapeutically.

Given that the researchers used cells taken from baby teeth during the study, it is yet to be determined whether the process would work with teeth from adult men.

Artificial Insemination - Milestone Types Intrauterine FAQs
Artificial Insemination is a medical procedure usually used to treat infertility. In this procedure, sperm is placed into a female's vagina, uterus or fallopian tubes by artificial means.

"I think we are on the right track, but we need to understand more about the mechanism," New Scientist magazine quoted Kerkis as saying.

Some other researchers are sceptical about the findings because human sperm takes several weeks to develop, while the Brazilian team's cells seemed to have matured within nine days.

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is an assisted reproductive technological procedure performed under a microscope, which aids in the introduction of a single sperm into the cytoplasm of an egg.

Robin Lovell-Badge of the National Institute for Medical Research in London, UK, highlighted the fact that human sperm stem cells had previously failed to mature in mouse testes.

He said that it seemed unlikely that dental cells would fare better.

A presentation on the study was made at the meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday.

Source-ANI
SRM