Molecular Mechanisms in Spermatogenesis [electronic resource] / edited by C. Yan Cheng.

Spermatogenesis and Cycle of the Seminiferous Epithelium -- Testicular Development and Spermatogenesis: Harvesting the Postgenomics Bounty -- Estrogens and Spermatogenesis -- Selenium, a Key Element in Spermatogenesis and Male Fertility -- Extracellular Matrix and Its Role in Spermatogenesis -- Inflammatory Networks in the Control of Spermatogenesis -- Transcription Regulation in Spermatogenesis -- Proteases and Their Cognate Inhibitors of the Serine and Metalloprotease Subclasses, in Testicular Physiology -- Antioxidant Systems and Oxidative Stress in the Testes -- Nitric Oxide and Cyclic Nucleotides: Their Roles in Junction Dynamics and Spermatogenesis -- The Sertoli Cell Cytoskeleton -- Blood-Testis Barrier, Junctional and Transport Proteins and Spermatogenesis -- Cross-Talk between Tight and Anchoring JunctionsLesson from the Testis -- The Role of the Leydig Cell in Spermatogenic Function.

In the past thirty years, significant advances have been made in the field of reproductive biology in unlocking the molecular and biochemical events that regulate spermatogenesis in the mammalian testis. It was possible because of the unprecedented breakthroughs in molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, and biochemistry. In this book entitled, Molecular Mechanisms in Spermatogenesis, a collection of chapters has been included written by colleagues on the latest development in the field using genomic and proteomic approaches to study spermatogenesis, as well as different mechanisms and/or molecules including environmental toxicants and transcription factors that regulate and/or affect spermatogenesis. The book begins with a chapter that provides the basic concept of cellular regulation of spermatogenesis. A few chapters are also dedicated to some of the latest findings on the Sertoli cell cytoskeleton and other molecules (e.g., proteases, adhesion proteins) that regulate spermatogenesis. These chapters contain thought-provoking discussions and concepts which shall be welcomed by investigators in the field. It is obvious that many of these concepts will be updated and some may be amended in the years to come. However, they will serve as a guide and the basis for investigation by scientists in the field.

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