Trial evaluation of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation in revival of spermatogenesis in testicular torsion

Defective spermatogenesis due to the failure in germ cell proliferation and differentiation is the major sign of male infertility pathogenesis; and male factor is involved in up to half of all infertile couples. Testicular torsion is an acute vascular event causing the rotation of the vascular pedicle of the testis, thereby impeding the blood flow to the testis and the scrotal contents. Azoospermia caused by torsion in testis is a common source of impotency, which has not been touched by this approach, yet. Here, we use the capacity of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), as multipotent adult stem cells, to revive spermatogenesis in torsion-induced azoospermia. For this purpose, MSCs were extracted from rat bone marrow, cultured and transplanted into torsioned testis. Germ cell specific markers (Oct4, Vasa and c-Kit) were monitored for the differentiation of MSCs after transplantation into the torsion azoospermed testis. This study is a trial evaluation of mesenchymal stem cells in rat torsion testis to follow up the regenerative capacity of stem cells in spermatogenesis revival. These approaches can provide the powerful tools to investigate the basic biology of stem cells for reproductive engineering and infertility treatment.