The Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC is a superb resource for both clinical male fertility and research in that field. Hooman Sadri-Ardekani, MD, PhD, urologist and male fertility expert and faculty member of the Institute is devoted to preserving fertility in boys and adolescents at risk of infertility either because of the need to treat cancer with life-saving, but often gonadotoxic drugs or with serious diseases including genetic disorders such as Klinefelter Syndrome that put them at risk for infertility. At the Institute for Regenerative Medicine the ability to cryopreserve immature testicular tissue prior to needed medical therapy at a young age is a national resource. Dr. Sadri-Ardekani has considerable expertise in the field of in-vitro spermatogenesis—a process that will allow fertility restoration for these boys and young men at a future time.
Also, Dr. Sadri-Ardekani and colleagues have developed a three-dimensional testicular organoid that can be used as a way to study human spermatogenesis and gonadotoxicity in culture. Currently, the testing of environmental agents and pharmaceutical compounds for potential gonadotoxicity is conducted in animals. These animal models have limited value in their predictive abilities. The three-dimensional in vitro testis organoid system is composed of spermatogonial stem cells, Sertoli. Leydig and peritubular cells. These organoids produce testosterone and support germ cell differentiation.
Dr. Sadri-Ardekani
Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Department of Urology, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27157
Phone: 336-713-1493
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