Background: Male infertility is considered a major cause of couple infertility as it represents 25- 50 % of infertility cases. In addition, non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) represents 10% of all infertile men. There is no definite curable treatment for such cases. Aim of work: This study was undertaken to determine the effect of BM-MSCs & AT-MSCs in the treatment of busulfan-induced azoospermia in wistar rats. Materials & Methods: Male rats were randomly divided into four groups. Rats in group I (control group) were equally subdivided into subgroups Ia, Ib; Group II (busulfan treated group) (n=5) were subjected to intra-peritoneal injection of 2 doses of busulfan with 3 weeks interval of 15 mg/kg body weight and 30mg/kg body weight of busulfan to induce azoospermia.; Group III (BM-MSCs treated group) (n=10) were treated by busulfan in the same manner as in group II and after five weeks from the second busulfan injection 100 μl of BM-MSCs mixture (2.5x106 cells) in 100 µl PBS was injected intra-testicular , BM-MSCs were isolated from the femur bones of 5 adult Wistar rats as the donor group (groupIb) and Group IV (AT-MSCs treated group) (n=10) were treated by busulfan as in group II and after 5 weeks from the second busulfan injection, 100 μl of AT-MSCs mixture (2.5x106 cells) in 100µl PBS was injected intra-testicular , AT-MSCs were isolated from pre-peritoneal adipose tissue , and characterized by morphology, MSC markers and osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation. Then, 12 weeks after cell therapy, histopathological and histomorphometric evaluations of the testes were performed. Mating between two female rats with one male rat was done to the four groups. Results: Histological examination of the testes of busulfan treated group revealed severe degeneration of seminiferous tubules with slouphing of spermatogenic cells. The seminiferous tubules treated with BM-MSCs, similar to the intact group, showed a normal appearance of spermatogenesis in comparison to the busulfan-induced azoospermic testes, also The seminiferous tubules treated with AT-MSCs, nearly similar to the intact group, showed a normal appearance of spermatogenesis in comparison to the busulfan-induced azoospermic testes. Offspring of females matted with BM-MSCs and AT-MSCs treated group have shown normal development and growth. In conclusion, BM-MSCs and AT-MSCs were effective in the treatment of azoospermia in wistar rat model where they restore the fertility of busulfan induced azoospermic animals after transplantation of MSCs. Therefore, this work could open a window in future to the possibility of MSCs transplantation in the treatment of azoospermia in humans, but more studies should be undertaken for further verification. Key words: Bone marrow, Adipose tissue, Mesenchymal stem cells, Busulfan, Azoospermia. |
