Reproduction Abstracts

Importin protein family members are best known for serving critical roles in mediating regulated nucleocytoplasmic transport, and many are essential to developmental events including gametogenesis. We proposed that coordinated expression of an importin and a cell-specific transcription factor would drive a developmental switch by enabling transcription and other nuclear factors to enter the nucleus appropriately. Analyses of importin alpha (IMPα) and beta (IMPβ) mRNA...

The TGFβ superfamily consists of more than 30 ligands, which exert their multiple functions during early embryonic development and in adult tissues. During spermatogenesis, several TGFβ superfamily ligands are present simultaneously to regulate critical stages of development through shared receptors and overlapping transduction molecules. However, the understanding of this promiscuity of signalling pathways remains unfortunately incomplete. Our aim is to study the me...

Introduction: Bacterial epididymitis is a common disorder in urological outpatient clinics and usually results from ascending infections originating in the urinary tract often involving uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) as causative pathogen. In 40% of patients with acute epididymitis, impaired semen parameters persist even after antibiotic treatment. Members of the TGFβ cytokine superfamily, such as activin A, have recently been identified in the epididymis and are c...