Plasticity of male germline stem cells and their applications in reproductive and regenerative medicine

• Published in: Asian journal of andrology Vol. 17; no. 3; pp. 367 - 372
• Main Authors: Chen, Zheng, Li, Zheng, He, Zuping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd 01.05.2015; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt. Ltd; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd; Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
• Subjects: Adult Stem Cells - cytology; Adult Stem Cells - physiology; Animals; Cell differentiation; Cell Differentiation - physiology; Cell Plasticity - physiology; Cell Self Renewal - physiology; Cell Transdifferentiation - physiology; differentiation; direct transdifferentiation; pluripotency; self-renewal; spermatogonial stem cells; Genetic aspects; Germ cells; Humans; Invited Review; Male; Models, Animal; Physiological aspects; Pluripotent Stem Cells - cytology; Pluripotent Stem Cells - physiology; Regenerative medicine; Regenerative Medicine - trends; Reproduction - physiology; Stem cells; 再生医学; 可塑性; 应用; 生殖干细胞; 直接分化; 精原干细胞; 精原细胞; 雄性; China
• ISSN: 1008-682X; 1745-7262
• DOI: 10.4103/1008-682X.143739

Spermatogonial stem cells （SSCs）, also known as male germline stem cells, are a small subpopulation of type A spermatogonia with the potential of self-renewal to maintain stem cell pool and differentiation into spermatids in mammalian testis. SSCs are previously regarded as the unipotent stem cells since they can only give rise to sperm within the seminiferous tubules. However, this concept has recently been challenged because numerous studies have demonstrated that SSCs cultured with growth factors can acquire pluripotency to become embryonic stem-like cells. The in vivo and in vitro studies from peers and us have clearly revealed that SSCs can directly transdifferentiate into morphologic, phenotypic, and functional cells of other lineages. Direct conversion to the cells of other tissues has important significance for regenerative medicine. SSCs from azoospermia patients could be induced to differentiate into spermatids with fertilization and developmental potentials. As such, SSCs could have significant applications in both reproductive and regenerative medicine due to their unique and great potentials. In this review, we address the important plasticity of SSCs, with focuses on their self-renewal, differentiation, dedifferentiation, transdifferentiation, and translational medicine studies.