Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Detecting sperm stem cells in dogs with silent chronic testicle
By Reifarth, Larena et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2023·Reproductive Unit - Clinic for Small Animals, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Detection of spermatogonial stem cells in testicular tissue of dogs with chronic asymptomatic orchitis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A male dog with chronic asymptomatic orchitis (CAO), which can lead to infertility, was studied to understand the condition better. Researchers found that the testicular tissue showed a significant loss of important cells needed for sperm production, but some stem cells that could potentially help restore fertility were still present. This study suggests that there may be new treatment options in the future to help dogs with this condition regain their ability to father puppies.
People also search for: dog infertility treatment · chronic orchitis in dogs · spermatogonial stem cells in dogs
Abstract
Chronic asymptomatic idiopathic orchitis (CAO) is an important but neglected cause of acquired infertility due to non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) in male dogs. The similarity of the pathophysiology in infertile dogs and men supports the dog's suitability as a possible animal model for studying human diseases causing disruption of spermatogenesis and evaluating the role of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) as a new therapeutic approach to restore or recover fertility in cases of CAO. To investigate the survival of resilient stem cells, the expression of the protein gene product (PGP9.5), deleted in azoospermia like (DAZL), foxo transcription factor 1 (FOXO1) and tyrosine-kinase receptor (C-Kit) were evaluated in healthy and CAO-affected canine testes. Our data confirmed the presence of all investigated germ cell markers at mRNA and protein levels. In addition, we postulate a specific expression pattern of FOXO1 and C-Kit in undifferentiated and differentiating spermatogonia, respectively, whereas DAZL and PGP9.5 expressions were confirmed in the entire spermatogonial population. Furthermore, this is the first study revealing a significant reduction of PGP9.5, DAZL, and FOXO1 in CAO at protein and/or gene expression level indicating a severe disruption of spermatogenesis. This means that chronic asymptomatic inflammatory changes in CAO testis are accompanied by a significant loss of SSCs. Notwithstanding, our data confirm the survival of putative stem cells with the potential of self-renewal and differentiation and lay the groundwork for further research into stem cell-based therapeutic options to reinitialize spermatogenesis in canine CAO-affected patients.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37396999/