Petasites japonicus Stimulates the Proliferation of Mouse Spermatogonial Stem Cells.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26207817.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0133077 and PMC identifier 4514868.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Oriental natural plants have been used as medical herbs for the treatment of various diseases for over 2,000 years. In this study, we evaluated the effect of several natural plants on the preservation of male fertility by assessing the ability of plant extracts to stimulate spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) proliferation by using a serum-free culture method. In vitro assays showed that Petasites japonicus extracts, especially the butanol fraction, have a significant effect on germ cells proliferation including SSCs. The activity of SSCs cultured in the presence of the Petasites japonicus butanol fraction was confirmed by normal colony formation and spermatogenesis following germ cell transplantation of the treated SSCs. Our findings could lead to the discovery of novel factors that activate SSCs and could be useful for the development of technologies for the prevention of male infertility.
Medical subject headings
- Petasites
- Plant Extracts
- Spermatogonia
- Stem Cells