REVIEW article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Reproduction - Theriogenology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1638248
This article is part of the Research TopicRecent developments in Animal Reproduction: combining research with practiceView all 13 articles
Cryopreservation and Culture Strategies for Testicular Tissue and Cells in Small and Large Animals
Provisionally accepted- Universita degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
The preservation of testicular tissue and male germ cells represents a cutting-edge technique for safeguarding fertility, especially when sperm collection is not possible, such as in prepubertal animals, those that die unexpectedly or that receive gonadotoxic therapies after cancer detection, and in adult males suffering from some pathology related to azoospermia. Current methods under investigation include the optimization of cryopreservation protocols, as well as the development of culture platforms to enable in vitro spermatogenesis (IVS). Although these approaches are still in the research and development phase, they have shown promising potential for male fertility preservation. Cryopreservation is a common method for long-term in vitro storage of tissue and cells, which enables the maintenance of reproductive capacity across different animal species and contributes to the creation of gene banks for endangered species. Spermatogenic cells from cryopreserved testicular tissue can be cultured in vitro and resume their functions after thawing, contributing to the preservation of fertility and genetic resources in both small and large animals. The main challenges of IVS include providing a suitable microenvironment that mimics the testicular niche to support the survival and development of all the cell types, as well as to achieve complete differentiation towards spermatozoa. Therefore, there is a great interest in developing methods to study IVS, both for basic research and clinical application. Given the importance of this topic, this review aims to provide an overview of recent advancements in the cryopreservation and culture of both testicular tissue and cells for preserving male fertility in large and small domestic animals.
Keywords: Animals, Freezing, In vitro spermatogenesis, Stem Cells, Testicular tissue, Vitrification
Received: 30 May 2025; Accepted: 02 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Vurchio, Colombo, Pasquariello and Luvoni. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Martina Colombo, Universita degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.