Reproduction Abstracts

Peroxisomes are cell organelles with important functions in the metabolism of lipids and reactive oxygen species. In germ cells, they have only recently been described by our groups. Their role for spermatogenesis has not been characterized in detail yet. We have established a mouse model with a conditional knockout of Pex13 in pre-meiotic germ cells to analyse the functions of peroxisomes for development and differentiation of male germ cells. The peroxisomal membran...

Introduction: Peroxisomes are ubiquitous organelles, which play an essential role in human physiology. Besides other metabolic pathways, peroxisomes are involved in β-oxidation of fatty acids, ROS-metabolism, and cholesterol synthesis, wherefore alterations of peroxisomal metabolism might affect steroid metabolism and the regulation of corresponding signaling pathways. Indeed male patients with peroxisomal dysfunction exhibit either cryptorchidism or a range of testicular...