Abstract
Female infertility impacts the quality of life and well-being of affected individuals and couples. Female reproductive diseases, such as primary ovarian insufficiency, polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, fallopian tube obstruction, and Asherman syndrome, can induce infertility. In recent years, translational medicine has developed rapidly, and clinical researchers are focusing on the treatment of female infertility using novel approaches. Owing to the advantages of convenient samples, abundant sources, and avoidable ethical issues, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be applied widely in the clinic. This paper reviews recent advances in using four types of MSCs, bone marrow stromal cells, adipose-derived stem cells, menstrual blood mesenchymal stem cells, and umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells. Each of these have been used for the treatment of ovarian and uterine diseases, and provide new approaches for the treatment of female infertility.
Highlights
Infertility is defined as the failure to achieve any pregnancy for at least 12 months [1]
There are several main directions for using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to treat infertile women caused by ovarian or uterine factors: (1) Most studies have been done on small animals, and there is a serious lack of valuable research in large animal models that more closely mimic the ovarian or endometrial pathophysiology of human female infertility
A randomized controlled trial should be conducted to confirm the therapeutic effect of MSCs in fertility medicine
Summary
Infertility is defined as the failure to achieve any pregnancy (including a miscarriage) for at least 12 months [1]. Superovulation, or assisted reproductive technologies have shown trends toward increased pregnancy rates, though different factors relating to the increased risks for multiple pregnancies must be considered [6]. These findings indicate shortcomings of existing treatment regimens. MSCs, called mesenchymal stromal cells, are a subset of nonhematopoietic adult stem cells that originate from the mesoderm They possess self-renewal abilities and multilineage differentiation into mesoderm lineages, such as chondrocytes, osteocytes, and adipocytes, and ectodermic and endodermic cells [8,9,10]. MSCs can be harvested from several adult tissues, such as bone marrow, menstrual blood, adipose tissue, the umbilical cord, and placenta [11,12,13,14,15]
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