Leukocytes, specifically macrophages, lymphocytes and mast cells, are found within the testes of most, if not all, mammals. In some species (for example, rats, mice and humans), the number of 'resident' testicular macrophages, in particular, is quite considerable. However, reproductive biologists are only beginning to explore the characteristics and possible biological significance of these cel...

Virilisation of the XX foetus is the result of androgen excess, resulting most frequently from congenital adrenal hyperplasia in individuals with typical ovarian differentiation. In rare cases, 46,XX gonads may differentiate into testes, a condition known as 46,XX testicular disorders of sex development (DSD), or give rise to the coexistence of ovarian and testicular tissue, a condition known a...

So far, successful de novo formation of testicular tissue followed by complete spermatogenesis in vitro has been achieved only in rodents. Our findings reveal that primary human testicular cells are able to self-organize into human testicular organoids (TOs), i.e., multi-cellular tissue surrogates, either with or without support of a biological scaffold. Despite lacking testis-specific topograp...

Cryptorchidism is the most well-defined risk factor for the development of testicular GCT; if uncorrected, the relative risk is 5 to 9 times that of healthy age-matched controls.[1] Approximately 10% of all cases of testicular GCT are associated with cryptorchidism and 10% of patients with cryptorchidism develop testicular GCT.[2,3] When testicular GCT develops in patients with unilateral crypt...

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are classically known as hormonal factors and recent studies have revealed that FGFs have a key role in regulating growth and development of several reproductive organs, including the testis. The testis is mainly consisted of germ cells, Sertoli cells and Leydig cells to develop and maintain the male phenotype and reproduction. This review summarizes the structu...

Seasonal changes in testicular and accessory gland weights, histological testicular structures, fructose and citric acid concentrations in two accessory glands and plasma testosterone levels were determined in adult male hedgehogs living in middle western France. Testicular activity started in winter (from December to February) during the last part of the hibernation period. During this resumpt...

Current theories of sexual differentiation maintain that ovarian estrogen prevents masculine development of the copulatory system in birds, whereas estrogen derived from testicular androgens promotes masculine sexual differentiation of neuroanatomy and sexual behavior in mammals. Paradoxically, some data suggest that the neural song system in zebra finches follows the mammalian pattern with est...

Stages of Puberty and Their Evaluation Sexual Maturity Rating (SMR) staging of sexual development, also known as Tanner staging, provides a means of discretely documenting a child’s progression through puberty by inspection. Separate scales are used for breast (female), genital (male), and pubic hair (both sexes) development (Figs. 1 and 2). (1)(2)(3) By definition, SMR stage 1 is prepubertal. ...

Citation: Chen X, Ge F, Liu J, Bao S, Chen Y, Li D, Li Y, Huang T, Chen X, Zhu Q, Lian Q and Ge R-S (2018) Diverged Effects of Piperine on Testicular Development: Stimulating Leydig Cell Development but Inhibiting Spermatogenesis in Rats. Front. Pharmacol. 9:244. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00244 Diverged Effects of Piperine on Testicular Development: Stimulating Leydig Cell Development but Inhibit...