Using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) as a new therapeutic agent for the treatment of infertility: Current progress, future perspectives and challenges

Infertility is a global public health concern with a high prevalence in around 15% of couples at reproductive age. The successful generation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from somatic cells brought about new hope for regenerative therapies including fertility and genetic disorders. Due to their few ethical issues, abundancy of the sources and high differentiation potential, induced pluripotent stem cells are recently has attracted high attentions as potentially new therapeutic agents for the treatment of infertility. These type of stem cells could be stimulated in vitro to differentiate into almost all kinds of cells including male and female gametes suggesting their potential use in reproductive medicine. Moreover, it just surprisingly report of making sperm from female cells or eggs from male cells in mammals using CRISPR technology have revolutionized this field of research. Here, we summarize recent developments, challenges and future prospective towards treating infertility and genetic disease with eggs and sperm using induced pluripotent stem cells. Additionally, the barrier to the development of aforementioned techniques for making healthy viable and fertile mature individuals without any chromosome disorders will be discussed.