Regulation of spermatogonial stem cell compartment in the mouse testis.

Spermatogenesis occurs throughout the adult lifetime of males and is supported by a robust stem cell system. Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are the stem cells of postnatal male germ cells, and not only self-renew but also produce differentiated progeny continuously. Recent report revealed that differentiating spermatogonia could revert into an undifferentiated state, although it was believed that SSCs were homogeneous and that differentiating spermatogonia was not reversible. Although several molecules, which regulate SSC, have been identified so far, molecular mechanisms underlying the maintenance of SSCs as well as the reversible developmental lineage of SSCs remain to be elucidated. In this review, we describe a brief overview of spermatogenesis and summarize the molecular regulation of SSC compartment.