Affiliations: [a] Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran | [b] Department of Medical Genetics, National Institute of Medical Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, Iran | [c] Medical Genetics, Jiroft University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Jiroft, Kerman, Iran | [d] Groupe de Recherche en Écologie Buccale, Faculté de Médecine Dentaire, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada | [e] Avicenna Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Evin, Tehran, Iran | [f] Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Farkhondeh Pouresmaeili, Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science & Men’s Health and Reproductive Health Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Tel.: +98 21 23872572; Fax: +98 21 23872572; E-mail: pouresfar@gmail.com.
Note: [1] Behnam Kamali Dehghan had equal contribution to the first author.
Abstract: Recent advances in assisted reproductive technology (ART) have allowed couples with severe infertility to conceive, but the methods are not effective for all cases. Stem cells as undifferentiated cells which are found in different stages of embryonic, fetal and adult life are known to be capable of forming different cell types, tissues, and organs. Due to their unlimited resources and the incredible power of differentiation are considered as potential new therapeutic biological tools for treatment of infertility. For reproductive medicine, stem cells are stimulated in vitro to develop various specialized functional cells including male and female gametes. The epigenetic patterns can be modified in the genome under certain drugs exposure or lifestyle alterations. Therefore, epigenetics-related disorders may be treated if the nature of the modifications is completely admissible. It is proved that our understanding of epigenetic processes and its association with infertility would help us not only to understand the etiological factors but also to treat some type of male infertilities. Exploration of both genetic and epigenetic variations in the disease development could help in the identification of the interaction patterns between these two phenomena and possible improvement of therapeutic methods.
