Recent advances in the genetics of testicular failure / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Infertility affects approximately 15% of couples, and male factor is responsible for 30%-50% of all infertility. The most severe form of male infertility is testicular failure, and the typical phenotype of testicular failure is severely impaired spermatogenesis resulting in azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia. Although the etiology of testicular failure remains poorly understood, genetic factor typically is an underlying cause. Modern assisted reproductive techniques have revolutionized the treatment of male factor infertility, allowing biological fatherhood to be achieved by many men who would otherwise have been unable to become father to their children through natural conception. Therefore, identifying genetic abnormalities in male is critical because of the potential risk of transmission of genetic abnormalities to the offspring. Recently, along with other intense researches ongoing, whole-genome approaches have been used increasingly in the genetic studies of male infertility. In this review, we focus on the genetics of testicular failure and provide an update on the advances in the study of genetics of male infertility.

Male Infertility: Present and Future.

During the last decade, a sudden decline in human male fertility has become a global concern. Genetic, endocrine and life style related problems are generally considered to be the underlie causes. However, several cases have been reported where hormones fail to promote spermatogenesis. The reason of such reproductive malfunctioning leading to male infertility remains idiopathic. Therefore, a sincere attention with a coordinated multidisciplinary effort by the andrologists, urologists and basic scientists is needed to understand the regulation of the sperm production. Powerful tools like high through put gene expression analyses, genetically manipulated mouse models and tissue culture or transplantation based assays are now available, increasing the scope of a establishing a special line of therapy for idiopathic male infertility. In this review, we have briefly summarized various categories of male infertility with emphasis on current research advancement in this field.

Técnicas del futuro: ingeniería de tejidos y uso de células madre en medicina reproductiva / Future's technology: tissue engineering and stem cells in reproductive medicine

Últimamente ha cobrado gran interés en la comunidad médica y científica, el avance experimentado por la medicina regenerativa, la ingeniería de tejidos y el uso de terapias celulares en base a células autólogas maduras, como también el uso de células madre. Desde que se levantó en Estados Unidos, la prohibición de investigar con células madre embrionarias, se ha producido un aumento de las investigaciones en este campo. El interés por estas investigaciones, se ha traspasadoa la comunidad no científica, que se encuentra expectante frente al progreso que se logre, con las terapias derivadas de tales estudios. En medicina reproductiva, existe la esperanza de poder producir células germinales tanto femeninas como masculinas (ovocitos o sus precursores y espermatozoides o sus precursores), a partir de células madre, para tratar pacientes con falla gonadal (ovárica o testicular), que hasta ahora resuelven su problema de infertilidad, mediante el uso de gametos donados, prevaleciendo la falla endocrina, que se resuelve con la administración de reemplazo hormonal. Las células madre son células indiferenciadas, toti potenciales que bajo ciertas condiciones, pueden diferenciarse a células especializadas. La medicina regenerativa se vale de la ingeniería de tejidos y las terapias celulares con células autólogasmaduras y también con células madre. Este artículo es una revisión bibliográfica sobre las últimas investigaciones en el campo de la medicina regenerativa y el uso de células madre en medicina reproductiva. Se describen los diferentes tipos de células madre y los tejidos que se ha logrado reproducir in vitro hasta ahora, como también algunos estudios en animales y su aplicación en humanos.

In the last years, the scientific and non-scientific community have been motivated by the great advances in the field of regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and cell therapies (using either mature autologous cells or stem cells). Since the beginning of 2009, once the prohibition of research in embryonic stem cells was abolished, there has been an increase in research in this field. There is great expectation, specially in the field of reproductive medicine and infertility where there exists the hope to produce germinal cells (oocytes and sperms) to treat couples with gonadal failure (ovarian o testicular). In these patients, gamete donation and permanent hormonal replacement therapy have resolved their fertility and/or endocrine problems. Regenerative medicine uses tissue engineering, and cell therapies to repair the function of a damaged organ. Stem cells are undifferentiated, toti potentially cells, that under certain conditions or milieu may differentiate to specialized cells. This article is a bibliographic review of the most recent investigations in the field of regenerative medicine and stem cell therapies, using animal models and their application to humans.