PKnox1 (also known as Prep1) belongs to the TALE family of homeodomain transcription factors that are critical for regulating growth and differentiation during embryonic and postnatal development in vertebrates. We demonstrate here that PKnox1 is required for adult spermatogenesis in a germ cell-intrinsic manner. Tamoxifen-mediated PKnox1 loss in the adult testes, as well as its germ cell-speci...

abstract background: type 2 diabetes mellitus is one of the psychosomatic disorders that stress playing an important role in causing, severity, and long term situation. the present study conducted to determine the association of personality type a and b to type 2 diabetes mellitus in patients’ referring to diabetes center. methods: in the descriptive correlation study, 50 diabetic type 2 patien...

Despite the fact that the Senegalese sole Solea senegalensis is a target species for the aquaculture industry in Spain and Portugal, very little is known about its gametogenesis and especially about testicular development. Therefore, the male reproductive system in adult S. senegalensis was described using a histological and histochemical approach. Mean gonadosomatic index was very low (0.094+/...

A histological study of the testes of stags shot in autumn (sexual season) and spring (quiescent period) indicated that the 3-fold increase in testicular size observed in the autumn was accompanied by increases in nearly all features studied (volumes of intertubular tissue, Leydig cells, blood vessels and peritubular cells; diameter and length of seminiferous tubules; the number of A1 spermatog...

We have previously shown that a ubiquitously expressed RNA splicing factor, RNA-binding motif 7 (RBM7), cloned from a testis complementary DNA library, enhances messenger RNA (mRNA) splicing in vitro and is expressed in a cell-restricted fashion. Herein, we detail its mRNA and protein expression in the rodent testis. RNA in situ hybridization shows that Rbm7 expression in rat germ cells closely...

Mutant mice of Sl/Sf genotype are deficient in melanocytes, erythrocytes, mast cells and germ cells. Deficiency of melanocytes, erythrocytes and mast cells is not attributable to an intrinsic defect in their precursor cells but to a defect in the tissue environment that is necessary for migration, proliferation and/or differentiation. We investigated the mechanism of germ cell deficiency in mal...

Spermatogenesis is a complex series of cellular changes leading to the formation of haploid male gametes (spermatozoa) and includes mitotic, meiotic and post-meiotic phases. Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are essential for the continuous lifelong production of spermatozoa. Spermatogenesis is initiated when SSC is triggered to undergo mitosis that gives rise to progenitors, which further diffe...

The exposure of men to the nematocide dibromochloropropane (DBCP) has caused prolonged oligo- and azoospermia, which occasionally reverses spontaneously. We recently demonstrated that in testes of rats treated with a dose of DBCP sufficient to reduce the percentage of tubules producing differentiating germ cells (tubule differentiation index, TDI) to 20%, the tubules lacking differentiating cel...