Laboratory of Translational Cell Biology, Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Reprod Biomed Online. 2013 Jul;27(1):75-80. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2013.03.003. Epub 2013 Mar 26.
Recent advances in assisted reproduction treatment have enabled some couples with severe infertility issues to conceive, but the methods are not successful in all cases. Notwithstanding the significant financial burden of assisted reproduction treatment, the emotional scars from an inability to conceive a child enacts a greater toll on affected couples. While methods have circumvented some root causes for male and female infertility, often the underlying causes cannot be treated, thus true cures for restoring a patient's fertility are limited. Furthermore, the procedures are only available if the affected patients are able to produce gametes. Patients rendered sterile by medical interventions, exposure to toxicants or genetic causes are unable to utilize assisted reproduction to conceive a child - and often resort to donors, where permitted. Stem cells represent a future potential avenue for allowing these sterile patients to produce offspring. Advances in stem cell biology indicate that stem cell replacement therapies or in-vitro differentiation may be on the horizon to treat and could cure male and female infertility, although significant challenges need to be met before this technology can reach clinical practice. This article discusses these advances and describes the impact that these advances may have on treating infertility.
近年来，辅助生殖治疗技术的进步使一些严重不孕问题的夫妇能够怀孕，但这些方法并非在所有情况下都能成功。尽管辅助生殖治疗带来了巨大的经济负担，但无法生育孩子给受影响的夫妇带来的情感创伤更为严重。虽然这些方法已经规避了一些导致男性和女性不孕的根本原因，但通常情况下，根本原因无法得到治疗，因此，恢复患者生育能力的真正治疗方法有限。此外，只有在受影响的患者能够产生配子的情况下，才可以进行这些程序。由于医疗干预、接触毒素或遗传原因而导致不育的患者无法使用辅助生殖来怀孕——在允许的情况下，他们通常会求助于捐赠者。干细胞为这些不育患者生育后代提供了未来的潜在途径。干细胞生物学的进步表明，干细胞替代疗法或体外分化可能即将出现，以治疗男性和女性不孕，并可能治愈男性和女性不孕，尽管在这项技术能够应用于临床实践之前，还需要应对重大挑战。本文讨论了这些进展，并描述了这些进展可能对治疗不孕的影响。
