Sexual steroid regulation of spermatogenesis: new actors enter the stage

This thesis explored the hormonal regulation of spermatogenesis, focusing on the roles of estrogens and androgens in human testis. It confirmed the expression of both estrogen receptors, ERα and ERβ, and identified four new androgen receptor (AR) variants, two of which are evolutionarily conserved. The study also discovered two novel genes regulated by these hormones: Aven, an estrogen target gene linked to spermatogenesis quality, and Regucalcin (RGN), an androgen-regulated gene involved in calcium control and cell proliferation. These findings highlighted the importance of estrogens and androgens in germ cell survival and opened new avenues for understanding male fertility.