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For the first time, researchers have produced healthy mice offspring using sperm derived from precursor cells generated in vitro. The achievement was made possible through the development of a highly efficient protocol for generating the sperm precursors from mouse embryonic stem cells.
The research, which appears online today (August 4) in Cell, could open doors to better characterizing the poorly understood process of germ cell development, as well as suggest possible avenues for the development of fertility treatments.
“This is a fascinating story, a technical tour-de-force,” said George Daley, a stem cell biologist at Children’s Hospital in Boston, who was not involved in the study. “This study establishes a major new platform for investigating sperm development, which may have implications for the development of male ...
