Martine Culty, PhD

Male fertility relies on a pool of germ line stem cells from which spermatozoa will arise after puberty. My laboratory studies the mechanisms regulating the development of gonocytes, neonatal precursors of the germ line stem cells. It is critical to understand these processes as their disruption can lead to infertility or testicular cancer. Because testis development depends on sex steroids, environmental chemicals that disrupt the estrogen and androgen balance in the body present the risk of altering gonocyte development and lead to reproductive diseases. Thus, our laboratory studies the development of gonocytes in normal conditions and in the presence of endocrine disruptors, using both in vivo and in vitro approaches. We are also studying human testicular cancer cells to clarify the origins of this cancer. Lastly, we are studying the expression and function of TSPO, a cholesterol binding protein highly expressed in steroid-producing cells that we have identified in testicular germ cells.