Infertility is the inability to conceive after having regular unprotected sexual intercourse for more than 12 months and it can be caused by reproductive problems of men, women, or both, but sometimes the cause of infertility is unknown. At least 30 million men around the world suffer from infertility, most of whom are in Africa and Eastern Europe. Since infertility problems can have devastating emotional effects on couples as well as negative effects on the society, treatment of infertility is very important, as a result of which many studies have been carried out in this field and many treatments have been proposed. Recently, due to several advances in infertility treatments, more than 80% of infertile couples now have children. Among these treatments, stem cells as undifferentiated cells and because of their self-renewing and high differentiating potential have been considered by researchers. This review explained different types of male infertility and various therapies, with emphasis on stem cells therapy.
Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) is a functional component of Astragalus membranaceus with antitumor and immunomodulatory properties. This study evaluated the effect of APS on the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proliferation, cytokine secretion, and regulatory T cell (Treg) induction in an in vitro coculture model of human PBMCs and A2780 human ovarian cancer cells.
PBMC proliferation and Treg frequency were measured by flow cytometry. Cytokine levels were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
APS significantly enhanced the PBMC proliferation, reduced Treg frequency, decreased anti-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin [IL]-10, transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), and increased the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6.
These findings suggest that APS may be an effective immunomodulatory supplement for cancer therapy, particularly for ovarian cancer by enhancing antitumor immune responses.
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