Endocrine Abstracts

More than 90% of malignant testicular tumors arise in the germ cells and are denoted testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs). TGCTs are one of the most common cancers among men between 15 to 40 years of age and arise from a common precursor cell, the germ cell neoplasia in situ (GCNIS), an arrested and transformed fetal gonocyte that become invasive after puberty. TGCTs are divided into seminomas and nonseminomas based on histology. Fortunately, TGTCs are highly sensitive to cispl...

Background and Purpose: Infertility affects 15% of couples globally, and only few treatment options are available. Gonadotropins are classic and potent regulators of ovarian and female reproductive function, but novel endocrine crosstalk appears to exist between gonads and the skeleton that may influence female fertility. One of the new players include the RANKL signalling system, which consists of the receptor activator of nuclear factor κβ ligand (RANKL), the recep...

Currently, no treatment options exist to improve semen quality for the majority of infertile men. Proper interaction between germ and Sertoli cells in the testis is critical for sperm production, and a recent study suggested that Denosumab, an inhibitor of RANKL signaling, may stimulate sperm production in some infertile men. Here, we show in animal and human studies how expression of the RANKL signaling system is critical for both Sertoli cell function and the testicular resp...