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Currently, clinical and experimental evidence point to an essential role of estrogens and estrogen receptors in male fertility. The expression of estrogen receptor α (ERα) and β (ERβ) in human testis has been described. However, some studies were unable to detect ERα, while others report the expression of both isoforms, with ERβ presenting a wide distribution within somatic and germinal testicular cells. This has suggested that estrogens may exert their testicular effects exclusively through ERβ. The present work aims to study the expression of ERα and ERβ in testicular biopsies of men with conserved and disrupted spermatogenesis, in order to better clarify the positive cell populations. Human testicular tissue was obtained from 10 men undergoing testicular biopsy for infertility relief due to azoospermia: two patients had secondary obstructive azoospermia with conserved spermatogenesis, five had Sertoli cell-only …