BACKGROUND It is proved that testis is sensitive to electromagnetic field (EMF) and its damage results in infertility. Exposure to EMF induces reactive oxygen species production and affects on anti-oxidants defense mechanisms. Metallothionein (MT) is a name for a group of low molecular weight (6-7 kDa), sulfhydryl rich proteins. Expression of MT1 and MT2 genes in testis tissue after EMF exposur...

Organogenesis of the testis is initiated when expression of Sry in pre-Sertoli cells directs the gonad toward a male-specific fate. The cells in the early bipotential gonad undergo de novo organization to form testis cords that enclose germ cells inside tubules lined by epithelial Sertoli cells. Although Sertoli cells are a driving force in the de novo formation of testis cords, recent studies ...

background: specific growth factors and feeder layers seem to have important roles in in vitro embryonic stem cells (escs) differentiation. in this study,the effects of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (bmp4) and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (mefs) co-culture system on germ cell differentiation from mouse escs were studied. materials and methods: cell suspension was prepared from one-day-old embryoi...

Background In mammals, a single exon gene SRY on the Y-chromosome is activated in the XY gonadal primordium and initiates a cascade of molecular and morphological events leading to testicular differentiation. SRY-encoded protein (SRY) is a transcription factor harboring a HMG-box DNAbinding motif that upregulates SOX9, which encodes another transcription factor sharing the DNA binding motif wit...

PURPOSE betaB2-crystallin is one of the most abundant proteins of the adult ocular lens of mammals although it is expressed at lower levels in several extralenticular locations. While mutations in betaB2-crystallin are known to result in lens opacities, alterations in tissues besides the lens have not been previously investigated in these mutants. Since we found mice harboring the Crybb2Phil mu...

Endocrine disruptors (ED) have been incriminated in the current increase of male reproductive alterations. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widely used weak estrogenic environmental ED and it is debated whether BPA concentrations within the average internal exposure are toxic. In the present study we investigated the effects of 10(-12) to 10(-5) M BPA concentrations on fetal Leydig cell function, as feta...

An androgen receptor (AR) interacting protein was isolated from a HeLa cell cDNA library by two-hybrid screening in yeast using the AR DNA+ligand binding domains as bait. The protein has sequence identity with human protein inhibitor of activated signal transducer and activator of transcription (PIAS1) and human Gu RNA helicase II binding protein (GBP). Binding of PIAS1 to human AR DNA+ligand b...

The cDNA for the monocarboxylate transporter MCT2 from rat testis has been cloned and sequenced. The derived protein sequence shows 82% identity with that from hamster. Rat MCT2 has a relative insertion of five amino acids in the N-terminal sequence preceding the first predicted transmembrane segment. MCT2 appears to be less highly conserved between species than MCT1. Using Northern blotting of...

BACKGROUND Spontaneous in vitro transition of undifferentiated spermatogonia into the pluripotent cell state has been achieved using neonatal and adult mouse testis tissue. In an effort to establish an analogous source of human patient-specific pluripotent stem cells, several research groups have described the derivation of embryonic stem cell-like cells from primary cultures of human testis. T...

BACKGROUND Estrogen receptors (ER) have important physiological roles in both the female and male reproductive systems. Previous studies using the estrogen receptor-alpha knockout mouse (alphaERKO) or antiestrogen treatment in adult rodents have shown that ERalpha is essential for normal function of the male reproductive tract. In the present study, time-response effects of the antiestrogen ICI...