Spermatogonial stem cell-based models for male fertility preservation

Cryopreservation of testicular tissue has been advocated to safeguard the fertility of prepubertal patients at risk of becoming infertile adults. It is hoped that spermatogonial cells within the cryopreserved tissues can be used to generate sperm for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), therefore restoring patients’ ability to father biological offspring. Although restoration of fertility was successfully achieved in the mouse model via an organ culture approach, it remains to be accomplished in humans. In fact, several challenges need to be overcome before successful reproducibility and translation to a clinical situation becomes a reality. This thesis aimed to find evidence on elements important for fertility restoration potential in organ culture and ultimately assist in finding in vitro spermatogonia-based fertility restoration options for prepubertal boys.