Deng Cun-Can, Liu Gui-Hua
Center of Reproduction, The Sixth Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510620, China.
Family Planning Research Institute of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510600, China.
Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue. 2020 Apr;26(4):351-356.
Non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) is an important factor that causes male infertility. Stem cells are a group of cells capable of self-renewal and multi-directional differentiation, and embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells can generate spermatozoa through differentiation, which, however, is confronted with ethical constraints and the risk of tumorigenesis. Spermatogonial stem cells can produce haploid gametes by differentiation but human spermatogonial stem cells are difficult to be cultured in vitro. Mesenchymal stem cells promote spermatogenesis through paracrine activity, and Leydig stem cells act on sperm production by secreting testosterone. 2D co-culture of multiple stem cells and 3D testicular organ culture can promote spermatogenesis by simulating a better spermatogenic microenvironment of the testis. Some progress has been achieved in the treatment of NOA by stem cell therapy despite existing problems and difficulties. This review summarizes the advances in the studies of stem cell therapy for NOA and introduces its application prospects and existing problems so as to provide some reference for the relevant researches and application.
非梗阻性无精子症（NOA）是导致男性不育的一个重要因素。干细胞是一类能够自我更新和多向分化的细胞，胚胎干细胞和诱导多能干细胞可通过分化产生精子，但这面临伦理限制和肿瘤发生风险。精原干细胞可通过分化产生单倍体配子，但人类精原干细胞难以在体外培养。间充质干细胞通过旁分泌活性促进精子发生，睾丸间质干细胞通过分泌睾酮作用于精子生成。多种干细胞的二维共培养和三维睾丸器官培养可通过模拟更好的睾丸生精微环境来促进精子发生。尽管存在问题和困难，但干细胞疗法在NOA治疗方面已取得一些进展。本文综述了干细胞治疗NOA的研究进展，介绍了其应用前景和存在的问题，为相关研究和应用提供一些参考。
