Recapitulation of meiosis in vitro

 

One of our research directions is devoted to recapitulation of mammalian spermatogenesis “in a dish”. More than 50% of infertile men display disrupted spermatogenesis, which cannot be restored by currently available treatments. These include cancer survivors, men with Klinefelter syndrome, a sex chromosome aneuploidy, as well as idiopathic infertility. Currently there are no well-established methods for the expansion of human spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) and generation of functional gametes. Our team employs mouse models, human adult SSCs, pluripotent stem cell-derived germ cells and aims to develop reliable methods to promote spermatogenesis in vitro. Importantly, we are developing assays for validation of each stage of spermatogenesis  "in a dish", including the meiosis.

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Furthermore, our lab has the capacity to directly compare the in vitro derived SSCs and spermatocytes to equivalent cells obtained directly from human testes.