[Mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of male infertility]

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), as a type of multifunction cells capable of self-renewal and multi-directional differentiation and with a low immunogenicity, have been widely applied in life sciences and medicine in recent years. Male infertility is very complicated pathogenically and there is no ideal method for its treatment. The potential ability of multi-differentiation and paracrine function of MSCs is bringing new hope to patients with male infertility. MSCs can be derived from the bone marrow, adipose tissue, and umbilical cord, on which lots of studies, either in vitro or in vivo, have been conducted and achieved satisfactory results. Many findings indicate that MSCs can differentiate into germ-like cells if specifically induced or transplanted into the testis, improve the local microenvironment of spermatogenesis and reconstruct the spermatogenic process by secreting nutritional factors after transplantation. This article presents an overview of the advances in the studies and application prospects of MSCs in male infertility.