Endocrine Abstracts

The protection of genetic integrity and establishment and maintenance of correct epigenetic marks are crucial in the germ line to prevent transmission of harmful information to next generations. Male germ cell differentiation is governed by accurate, spatially and temporally controlled gene expression patterns. Male germ cells produce several classes of small non-coding RNAs that are known to regulate gene expression at both post-transcriptional and transcriptional level. Thes...

Accurate posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression is essential for the production of good quality spermatozoa. Active cell type-specific transcription, exceptionally diverse transcriptome, and finally, near-to-complete transcriptional silencing during the late steps of spermatogenesis create a high demand for effective RNA regulatory mechanisms. Furthermore, RNAs packed inside spermatozoa can mediate epigenetic inheritance of father’s acquired disorders, therefor...

: Hydroxysteroid (17beta) dehydrogenase 1 (Hsd17b1) is a steroidogenic enzyme catalyzing the conversion of estrone (E1) to estradiol (E2), and androstenedione (A-dione) to testosterone (T). We have shown that the deletion of Hsd17b1 gene in mice resulted in the failure of ovarian estrogen production and subfertility. In this study, we clarified the role of Hsd17b1 in male reproduction. The data revealed that in mice Hsd17b1 mRNA is highly expressed in the Sertoli cells at the ...