spermatogonial stem cell (ssc) technologies provide multiple opportunities for research in the field of biotechnology and regenerative medicine. the therapeutic use of embryonic stem cells (escs) is restricted due to severe ethical and immunological concerns. therefore, we need a new pluripotent cell type. despite well-known role of germ cells in the gametogenesis, some facts apparently show th...

In Drosophila, germ cell survival and directionality of migration are controlled by two lipid phosphate phosphatases (LPP), wunen (wun) and wunen-2 (wun2). wun wun2 double mutant analysis reveals that the two genes, hereafter collectively called wunens, act redundantly in primordial germ cells. We find that wunens mediate germ cell-germ cell repulsion and that this repulsion is necessary for ge...

Germ cell apoptosis in testis is essential for functional spermatogenesis. Recent evidence suggests that the Fas signaling system is critical for the regulation of testicular germ cell apoptosis. To further evaluate the Fas signaling system in testis, we examined the incidence of germ cell apoptosis in gld mice that lack a functional Fas-signaling pathway. gld mice have a small, but significant...

Extragonadal germ cell tumors are extremely rare and account for only 3%-5% of all germ cell tumors. These tumors are rarely associated with metachronous primary testicular germ cell tumors. We report the fourth case of a primary germ cell tumor occurring after the treatment of a primary CNS germ cell tumor in a 27 year-old male with embryonal cell carcinoma of the testicle 9 years after the tr...

Background: Teratomas are the most common ovarian germ cell tumors. Growing teratoma syndrome is a rare condition that entails appearance of extragonadal teratomas during or after chemotherapy treatment non seminomatous