The large Japanese field mouse, Apodemus speciosus, is a potential indicator of environmental stress, but this function has not been confirmed by histological studies. Since environmental stress affects the reproductive function of mice, we determined the reproductive characteristics of this species at two locations: Toyama (36°35'N, 137°24'E) and Aomori (40°35'N, 140°57'E). Mice were captured ...

The progression of spermatogenesis involves global changes in chromatin structure and conformation. However, our understanding of the regulation of chromatin changes in germ cells remains limited. Here we describe both in vivo RNA interference and genetic mouse knockout studies that identify a critical role for Yin Yang 1 (YY1) in mammalian spermatogenesis. In the YY1-deficient spermatocytes, w...

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) capable of self-renewal and differentiation are the foundation for spermatogenesis. Although several factors important for these processes have been identified, the fundamental mechanisms regulating SSC self-renewal and differentiation remain unknown. Here, we investigated a role for the Foxo transcription factors in mouse spermatogenesis and found that Foxo1 sp...

Objective: Among herbal medicine, Allium sativum (garlic) has historically been used widely for the treatment of many disease such as hypertension, diabetes, tuberculosis, leprosy, constipation, parasitic infection, food poisoning, emmenagogue, abortion induction and many other disease. However, data about the particular effects of garlic such as activator of spermatogenesis has not been consid...

In 1994, the first successful stem cell transplantation in the mammalian testis was reported (Brinster and Zimmermann, 1994). In the early studies, a mixture of germ cells from either mouse or rat testes was successfully transplanted by microinjection into a germ cell-depleted recipient mouse testis (Clouthier et al, 1996). Stem cells in this mixture colonized the repopulation of all of the ger...