Xenotransplantation of Pig Spermatogonia into Mouse Testis

The objective of the present study was to investigate the survival effect after transplantation of pig spermatogonia cells into mouse testis. Donor cells were collected from porcine testis and the isolated spermatogonial stem cells were labeled with a fluorescent marker before transplantation and transplanted into testes of busulfan-treated recipient mice. Testes were examined for the presence and localization of labeled donor cells immediately after transplantation or every week for 4 wk. Transplanted germ cells were present in the seminiferous epithelium at 4 weeks after the transplantation, but any differentiating porcine-derived cells were not detected in mouse testis. These results indicate that porcine-derived spermatogonial stem cells can be survived in the recipient, but suggest that porcine-derived male stem cells can not proceed to further differentiating step without helping of immunosuppressor agents.