New Frontiers in Gamete Biology

Jerome F. Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D. Carmen J. Williams, M.D., Ph.D.

The clinical science of reproductive medicine has evolved over the years from a discipline dominated by endocrinology to a field that is now highly focused on the biology of gametes and early embryos. Prominent issues in the current clinical practice of reproductive medicine include the assessment of ovarian reserve, identification of the factors that affect germ cell quality, the determination of the quality of germ cells and early embryos in the clinic, the manipulation of gametes to achieve proper maturation and competence for embryonic development, and the impact of epigenetic factors on the offspring of assisted reproduction. The application of emerging technology to oocyte maturation in vitro, the clinical assessment of oocyte/embryo quality, the cryopreservation of ovarian tissue and oocytes for subsequent autotransplantation, and superior biomarkers of ovarian reserve is beginning to have an impact. Methods still in preclinical development, including male germ cell transplantation, methods to induce oocyte maturation, and the use of embryonic stem cells to produce germ cells in culture, presage a potential revolution in the treatment of infertility and stem cell therapeutics. This issue of Seminars in Reproductive Medicine contains a collection of reviews prepared by authorities in the field of male and female germ cell biology, representing both the basic and translational research arenas. Their contributions summarize emerging technology that is already used in clinical practice, as well as the promise that basic germ cell research holds for the future treatment of human infertility. We are grateful to these contributors for taking on this task.