In vitro Spermatogenesis and Its Potential Clinical Implication for Patients

The establishment of a robust and reliable culture system to study the differentiation of male germ cells in vitro has been a topic in developmental biology and reproductive medicine for over 100 years. Although successful approaches resulting in full mammalian spermatogenesis have been developed for mice, development of a system to elucidate details of the complex process of spermatogenesis in humans is still needed. A huge variety of strategies employing different types of cells, cultured in different conditions, have been investigated so far. However, mostly because of limited access to human gonadal material from healthy donors, crucial information necessary to establish a functioning system remains missing. To picture the current status of information on human spermatogenesis in vitro, this short review mainly focuses on articles published over the last decade. However, important articles published before 2006 have also been included in the absence of more recent studies. A literature search was conducted, including articles written in English and German, cited in PubMed, and references identified in articles, with the focus on in vitro spermatogenesis and its clinical implication for paediatric oncology and haematology patients subjected to gonadotoxic anticancer treatments.