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Testicular Tissue Transplantation

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Female and Male Fertility Preservation

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Abstract

The transplantation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) to the testis has the potential to become a fertility restoration strategy in patients at risk for germ cell loss due to gonadotoxic therapies. Initial transplantation of SSCs was performed by injecting a single cell suspension in the seminiferous tubules of the testis. Later on, testicular tissue transplantation seemed to be easier and more efficient. Full spermatogenesis can be obtained in transplanted testicular tissue in many species, including nonhuman primates. Recently, the birth of a monkey after intracytoplasmic injection with spermatozoa isolated from ectopic testicular tissue transplants in the monkey was achieved.

Cryopreservation of testicular biopsies to boys facing gonadotoxic treatments is already offered by several fertility centers, but transplantation of these stored biopsies to a patient has not yet been performed. It will be a matter of time before patients will inform about the restoration strategies with their cryopreserved testicular biopsies. Next to a clinical fertility preservation strategy, the transplantation of SSCs can be useful for the preservation of endangered livestock or the creation of transgenic animals.

This book chapter will provide an overview of the current achievements in the transplantation of SSCs in animal models and factors to be considered for a human clinical application.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research laboratory Biology of the Testis, Department of Reproduction, Genetics and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

    Dorien Van Saen & Ellen Goossens

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  1. Dorien Van Saen
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  2. Ellen Goossens
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Correspondence to Dorien Van Saen .

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  1. Reproductive Medicine and Fertility Preservation, Hôpital Antoine-Béclère, Clamart, France

    Michael Grynberg

  2. Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility-Department Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Pasquale Patrizio

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Van Saen, D., Goossens, E. (2022). Testicular Tissue Transplantation. In: Grynberg, M., Patrizio, P. (eds) Female and Male Fertility Preservation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47767-7_41

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