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Gonadal tissue cryopreservation and transplantation
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, Women's Pavilion (F3.38), Royal Victoria Hospital, 687 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, PQ H3A 1A1, Canada. roger.gosden@muhc.mcgill.ca
Reproductive Biomedicine Online
|December 10, 2002
Summary
Fertility preservation through ovarian and testicular tissue transplantation is advancing. These methods, including cryopreservation and grafting, offer hope for young cancer patients to restore reproductive potential.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive biology and cryobiology
- Oncofertility
- Transplantation medicine
Background:
- Ovarian and testicular tissue transplantation has a long history, primarily for research.
- Fertility preservation is crucial for young patients undergoing sterilizing cancer treatments.
- Current methods focus on cryopreservation and subsequent transplantation for fertility restoration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current strategies for fertility preservation using ovarian and testicular tissue transplantation.
- To highlight the potential of these techniques for young patients, including children, facing gonadotoxic therapies.
- To discuss the experimental basis and clinical testing of these fertility-saving approaches.
Main Methods:
- Cryopreservation of ovarian tissue biopsies for indefinite storage at liquid nitrogen temperatures.
- Orthotopic or heterotopic grafting of thawed ovarian tissue back to the patient.
- Experimental approaches for male germ cell preservation, including spermatogonial stem cell injection and cryopreserved testicular tissue grafting.
- Generation of spermatozoa for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) from grafted testicular tissue.
Main Results:
- Ovarian tissue can be stored indefinitely and successfully grafted to restore function.
- Spermatogonial stem cells can restore spermatogenesis after sterilizing treatments.
- Cryopreserved testicular biopsies can be grafted to produce sperm for ICSI, particularly in prepubertal cases.
- These techniques have shown success in animal models and are progressing to clinical trials.
Conclusions:
- Ovarian and testicular tissue transplantation represent viable fertility preservation strategies for patients undergoing sterilizing treatments.
- Advances in cryopreservation and grafting techniques offer significant hope for restoring fertility in young individuals.
- Ongoing clinical trials are crucial for validating the efficacy and safety of these oncofertility interventions.