Germ cell transplantation

Transplantation of male germ line stem cells from a fertile donor to the testis of an infertile recipient restores donor-derived spermatogenesis in the recipient testis. The resulting sperm pass the donor genotype to the offspring of the recipient. Germ cell transplantation helped to elucidate the biology of male germ line stem cells and their niche in the testis, develop systems to isolate and culture spermatogonial stem cells, examine defects in spermatogenesis, correct male infertility, and introduce genetic changes into the male germ line. Although most widely studied in rodents, germ cell transplantation has been applied to larger mammals, including primates. Potential clinical applications include restoration of fertility in patients who underwent sterilizing treatments for cancer or targeted correction of genetic defects in testicular somatic cells. Recently, ectopic grafting of testis tissue from diverse donor species, including primates, into a mouse host has opened an additional possibility to study spermatogenesis and to produce fertile sperm from immature donors. Testis xenografts are ideally suitable to study toxicants or drugs with the potential to enhance or suppress male fertility without the necessity of performing experiments in the target species. Therefore, transplantation of germ cells and xenografting of testis tissue represent powerful approaches for the study, preservation, and manipulation of male fertility.