Researchers Successfully 3D Print Male Reproductive Cells

The University of British Columbia recently accomplished a new world first. A team of researchers led by Dr. Ryan Flannigan have succeeded in 3D printing human testicular cells. After a few days of maturation, these cells would have been able to evolve into cells capable of producing sperm. Of course, we are still far from bioprinting functional and viable male reproductive cells, but this is a key step for the medical sector that could offer a solution to men suffering from infertility.

Advances in medical additive manufacturing will never cease to amaze us, including in fertility studies. One of the first projects was in 2017 wherein Northwestern University and the McCormick School of Engineering were able to successfully bioprint ovaries, implanting them into sterile mice that were able to give life to a very healthy litter. This time, bioprinting has turned its attention to men, allowing doctors to address fertility on both sides.

Bioprinting and Reproductive Cells: Dream or Reality?

Dr. Flannigan hopes that this research project will address forms of male infertility that are currently untreatable. As he explains, “Infertility affects 15 per cent of couples and male factors are a contributing cause in at least half those cases.” The first step of the project was to harvest stem cells from a patient with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA). This corresponds to a total absence of viable sperm during ejaculation, as the seminiferous tubules have diminished sperm production. In some rare cases, it is possible to intervene surgically to find reproductive cells, but this operation is only successful in half the cases.