High-precision microbeam radiotherapy reveals testicular tissue-sparing effects for male fertility preservation

Hisanori Fukunaga, Kiichi Kaminaga, Takuya Sato, Karl T Butterworth, Ritsuko Watanabe, Noriko Usami, Takehiko Ogawa, Akinari Yokoya, Kevin M Prise

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)
154 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Microbeam radiotherapy (MRT) is based on a spatial fractionation of synchrotron X-ray microbeams at the microscale level. Although the tissue-sparing effect (TSE) in response to non-uniform radiation fields was recognized more than one century ago, the TSE of MRT in the testes and its clinical importance for preventing male fertility remain to be determined. In this study, using the combination of MRT techniques and a unique ex vivo testes organ culture, we show, for the first time, the MRT-mediated TSE for the preservation of spermatogenesis. Furthermore, our high-precision microbeam analysis revealed that the survival and potential migration steps of the non-irradiated germ stem cells in the irradiated testes tissue would be needed for the effective TSE for spermatogenesis. Our findings indicated the distribution of dose irradiated in the testes at the microscale level is of clinical importance for delivering high doses of radiation to the tumor, while still preserving male fertility.

Original languageEnglish
Article number12618
Number of pages10
JournalScientific Reports
Volume9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01 Oct 2019

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'High-precision microbeam radiotherapy reveals testicular tissue-sparing effects for male fertility preservation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this