This review addresses current understanding of the germline stem cell niche unit in
mammalian testes. Spermatogenesis is a classic model of tissue-specific stem cell function …

Since their original discovery as regulators of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion
and erythropoiesis, the TGF-β family members activin and inhibin have been shown to …

In vitro generation of functional gametes is a promising approach for treating infertility,
although faithful replication of meiosis has proven to be a substantial obstacle to deriving …

Activins are dimeric glycoproteins belonging to the transforming growth factor beta
superfamily and resulting from the assembly of two beta subunits, which may also be …

Germline development in vivo is dependent on the environment formed by somatic cells and
the differentiation cues they provide; hence, the impact of local factors is highly relevant to …

Spermatogenesis is a complex process by which spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) self-
renew and differentiate into spermatozoa under the elaborate coordination of testicular …

BACKGROUND Activins are members of the pleiotrophic family of the transforming growth
factor-beta (TGF-β) superfamily of cytokines, initially isolated for their capacity to induce the …

The production of spermatozoa relies on a pool of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs), formed
in infancy from the differentiation of their precursor cells, the gonocytes. Throughout adult …

Cholesterol provided by low-or high-density lipoprotein is the precursor for biosynthesis of
progesterone. Once inside the cell, cholesterol can be used for steroidogenesis or esterified …

Although mice are the most widely used mammalian model organism, genetic studies have
suffered from limited mapping resolution due to extensive linkage disequilibrium (LD) that is …