Paper of the October Issue of Stem Cell Reviews and Reports Addresses a Role of Prenatal Exposure of Murine Testicular Stem Cells to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals that Results in Defective Spermatogenesis, Reduced Fertility and Tumor Initiation in Adult Life

摘要

This month we have selected the work of Dr. Anita Kaushik in the outstanding research group of Dr. Deepa Bhartiya, entitled "Altered Biology of Testicular VSELs and SSCs by Neonatal Endocrine Disruption Results in Defective Spermatogenesis, Reduced Fertility and Tumor Initiation in Adult Mice”. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are present ubiquitously in the environment and pose a serious threat to global human health, affecting multiple organs including reproductive disorders and cancers. Perinatal exposure to the EDCs lead to diseases in adult life supporting the concept of fetal origin of adult disease. Reproductive health of men has declined in recent times as evidenced by decreased sperm count and increased incidence of infertility and testicular cancer. Young men are getting affected by testicular cancers. Scientists have been working worldwide to understand how EDCs threaten human health but there is no clear understanding as yet. In the current volume of SCRR, Kaushik et al. hypothesized that possibly the testicular stem cells are affected by EDCs during perinatal stage and being immortal in nature (survive throughout life unlike somatic cells with shorter life span) manifest disease state in adult life. Stem cells function in a subtle manner to maintain tissue homeostasis. A strict balance between self-renewal, expansion and differentiation of tissue stem cells results in maintaining tissue homeostasis and any perturbation to this balance will lead to disease state.