Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are essential for long-term spermatogenesis and are the subject of considerable clinical interest, as 'SSC therapy' has the potential to cure some forms of male infertility. Recently, we have learned more about SSCs and spermatogenesis in general from a plethora of studies that performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) analysis on dissociated cells from human, macaque, and/or mice testes. Here, we discuss what scRNAseq analysis has revealed about SSC precursor cells, the initial generation of SSCs during perinatal development, and their heterogeneity once established. scRNAseq studies have also uncovered unexpected heterogeneity of the larger class of cells that includes SSCs - undifferentiated spermatogonia. This raises the controversial possibility that multiple SSC subsets exist, which has implications for mechanisms underlying spermatogenesis and future SSC therapeutic approaches.

中文翻译：

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精原干细胞的单细胞视图。

精原干细胞 (SSC) 对长期精子发生至关重要，并且是具有相当临床兴趣的主题，因为“SSC 疗法”有可能治愈某些形式的男性不育症。最近，我们从对来自人类、猕猴和/或小鼠睾丸的分离细胞进行单细胞 RNA 测序 (scRNAseq) 分析的大量研究中了解了更多关于 SSC 和精子发生的总体情况。在这里，我们讨论了 scRNAseq 分析揭示了关于 SSC 前体细胞、围产期发育过程中 SSC 的初始生成以及它们一旦建立后的异质性。scRNAseq 研究还发现了包括 SSC 在内的更大类细胞的意外异质性 - 未分化的精原细胞。这提出了存在多个 SSC 子集的有争议的可能性，