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Stem Cells and Fertility Preservation in Males

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Fertility Preservation

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Abstract

Recent advances in stem cell biology related to fertility preservation have contributed to improve our knowledge about the etiologies of male infertility and its potential reversion. Several factors related with low fertility in males have been described, such as the effect of different drugs, several types of cancers, aging, hormonal treatments, and the increase in sexually transmitted diseases. Given these increasing hazards, different alternatives for the preservation of male fertility are currently suggested, for instance, cryopreservation of testi­cular tissue for patients with spermatogenesis activity. However, the number of prepubertal patients increases yearly due to more cancer cases and associated anomalies. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments block or destroy spermatogenesis. Thus, the search for suitable sources of germ stem cells, unique thanks to their self-renewal and differentiation characteristics, is increasingly necessary. Recent studies have demonstrated the presence of stem cells in adult testes and have described the methodology to isolate and culture these germ stem cells. Here we describe the state of the art in the field and the work underway in male fertility preservation relating to stem cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stem Cell Bank, Prince Felipe Research Centre, Valencia, Spain

    Marcia Riboldi (Doctoral Student) & Ana Isabel Marqués Marí PhD (Researcher)

  2. Stem Cell Bank, Prince Felipe Research Centre, Autopista del Saler 16, Camino de las Moreras, Valencia, 46012, Spain

    Carlos Simón MD, PhD

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  1. Marcia Riboldi
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  2. Ana Isabel Marqués Marí PhD
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  3. Carlos Simón MD, PhD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, Yale University, Cedar St. 333, New Haven, 06510, Connecticut, USA

    Emre Seli

  2. , Director, Center for Reproductive, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, 44195, Ohio, USA

    Ashok Agarwal

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Riboldi, M., Marí, A.I.M., Simón, C. (2012). Stem Cells and Fertility Preservation in Males. In: Seli, E., Agarwal, A. (eds) Fertility Preservation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1783-6_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1783-6_26

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