This volume contains the proceedings of the XVth North American Testis Workshop, held in Louisville, Kentucky, April 7 to 10, 1999, to describe current advances in testis biology. The first two chapters provide a useful historical perspective of testis physiology and formulate compelling research questions about important aspects of sperm formation and function. This prologue sets the scene for the remainder of the volume that follows a logical progression, as the title implies, from stem cell to cell function, but that is necessarily preceded by sex determination, the quintessential requirement for there being a testis in the first place. The program for this XVth Testis Workshop evolved from recommenda­ tions of the scientific committee and their advice on the selection of invited speakers. The XVth Testis Workshop has a strong comparative flavor with contributions on worms (Caenorhabditis), flies (Drosophila), and chickens, which are models that permit and thereby reveal the power of genetic analy­ ses of the molecular mechanisms involved in spermatogenesis. A glimpse into the future is provided with information from EST, protein, and genome databases that already have an impact on progress in our understanding of the male germ cell. Although there is heavy emphasis in these chapters on cellular and molecular e,¥ents, database mining and translational profiling relevant to testis function and dysfunction and assisted reproduction tech­ nologies are not overlooked.

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Preface.- Contributors.- Prologue.- 1. Unlocking the Mysteries of Male Reproductive Function: How Far Have We Come and Where Are We Going?.- 2. Spermatogenesis After the Millennium.- I. Testis Development and Differentiation.- 3. Sry and the Testis: Molecular Pathways of Organogenesis.- 4. MIS Actions in the Developing Testis.- 5. Regulation of the Differentiation of the Undifferentiated Spermatogonia.- 6. Regulation of Growth and Survival in the Mammalian Germline.- II. Paracrine and Endocrine Interactions.- 7. Synthesis, Fate, and Proposed Function of Clusterin (SGP-2) in the Testis.- 8. HRT for the Aging Male: A Therapy That Has Come of Age?.- 9. Androgen Replacement in Young Men.- III. Genetics and Cell Biology of Spermatogenesis.- 10. Developmental Genetics of Spermatogenesis in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.- 11. Regulation of Meiosis and Spermatid Differentiation in Drosophila Primary Spermatocytes.- 12. HSP70 Chaperones in Spermatogenesis.- 13. Characterization of the Testicular Histone-Binding Protein, NASP.- 14. The Actin-Bundling Protein Espin and Its Role in the Ectoplasmic Specialization.- IV. Epididymal Maturation and Fertilization.- 15. Regulation of Epididymal Function by Testicular Factors: The Lumicrine Hypothesis.- 16. Aging Causes Structural and Functional Alterations in the Epididymis.- 17. The Molecular Basis of Sperm-Egg Interactions.- V. Genetic Defects and Remedies.- 18. Heritable Sperm Degeneration in the Domestic Fowl.- 19. The DAZ Gene Family and Germ-Cell Development.- 20. Genetic Defects of Male Infertility and ICSI.- 21. Spermatids: Clinically Useful Gametes?.- 22. Effect of Embryo Culture on Imprinted Gene Expression in the Preimplantation Mouse Embryo.- Author Index.