Euronews.com – Scientists managed to create organoid testicles – aka lab-grown testicles – a major scientific achievement which paves the way for further research to help with male infertility.
The testicles, or testes, are responsible for sperm production and androgen synthesis which play a part in male sexual development. Infertility affects up to 7 per cent of men.
Currently, no in vitro system exists for modelling the testis and producing sperm in the same way that IVF treatment can harvest eggs from a female.
“Artificial testicles are a promising model for basic research on testicle development and function, which can be translated into therapeutic applications for disorders of sexual development and infertility,” Dr Nitzan Gonen who specialises in the process of foetal sex determination said in a statement.
The team led by Gonen and her research students at Bar Ilhan University, published its results in the International Journal of Biological Sciences.
Potential uses in male infertility
The miniature artificial testicles generated are synthetic organs created using mouse testicular tissue, effectively replicating the natural characteristics of a human testicle with a high level of accuracy.
Organoids – miniature, simplified versions of organs grown in a lab, usually embedded within a gel-like matrix – have been increasingly developed this last decade …
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