Japanese

Prof. Nishimune

The union of two germ-line cells, the sperm and egg, restores the genomic information that contains the characteristics of the species and initiates development of a single zygote into a multicellular organism. As an individual develops, cells that have acquired particular fates to perform specific functions proliferate and differentiate to form each organ of the body. Once fully grown, somatic cells ensure individual survival, and a number of germ-line cells are produced in the reproductive organs to carry the genome to the next generation. The marvelous ability of multicellular organisms to preserve the species and maintain individuals is based on germ and somatic cells, respectively.
Mammalian spermatogenesis, one form of gametogenesis, consists of three biologically significant processes: (1) self-renewal and differentiation of germinal stem cells, (2) meiotic recombination in spermatocytes after spermatogonial mitotic proliferation, and (3) the dramatic morphological changes that convert haploid germ cells into mature sperm. Studies of each of these processes provide many informative clues to the basic mechanisms of cell biology, including proliferation, differentiation, and morphogenesis.

Notice !

Our laboratory was closed at 31 March 2004.
In this site, we povied the information about
our experimental results and our refferences
from 1985 to 2004.

Our results and contact address

Publications