In vitro spermatozoid culture

At the fertility centre of the hospital for women, mothers and infants (Hôpital Femme Mère Enfant) in Lyon, a team of researchers has just achieved a biotechnological feat: the production of human sperm in the laboratory from testicular biopsies of sterile men.
The Artistem device, developed by the start-up company Kallistem, is a cell therapy technology for the in vitro culture of sperm from germ cells. As a result of this technical prowess, researchers can now carry out spermatogenesis in the laboratory, i. e., the entire natural process that produces sperm. However, this process is one of the most complex in nature. This discovery represents a new hope for azoospermic patients, but it has yet to be investigated in many studies before possible clinical use.