Publications by authors named "Souvik Sen Sharma"

Organophosphate pesticides have potent endocrine disrupting effects, hence banned in many countries. However, many organophosphates like chlorpyrifos, malathion et cetera continue to be used in some countries (Wołejko et al., 2022; Wołejko et al.

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Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 (BMP2), a member of the Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) super family of proteins and is instrumental in the repair of fractures. The synthesis of BMP2 involves extensive post-translational processing and several studies have demonstrated the abysmally low production of rhBMP2 in eukaryotic systems, which may be due to the short half-life of the bioactive protein. Consequently, production costs of rhBMP2 are quite high, limiting its availability to the general populace.

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Spermatogenesis is a complex process of germ cell division and differentiation that involves extensive cross-talk between the developing germ cells and the somatic testicular cells. Defective endocrine signaling and/or intrinsic defects within the testes can adversely affect spermatogenic progression, leading to subfertility/infertility. In recent years, male infertility has been recognized as a global public health concern, and research over the last few decades has elucidated the complex etiology of male infertility.

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Transfection of nucleic acid molecules into mammalian cells can be facilitated using viral vectors, electroporation, or biocompatible cationic materials. However, safety issues and the requirement of specialized equipment limits the use of viral vectors and physical methods of transfection like electroporation and microinjection, respectively. Biocompatible cationic lipids and polymers like branched-polyethyleneimine (bPEI) have a wide transfection range and are user-friendly in most applications.

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Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) acts via FSH-Receptor (FSH-R) by employing cAMP as the dominant secondary messenger in testicular Sertoli cells (Sc) to support spermatogenesis. Binding of FSH to FSH-R, results the recruitment of the intracellular GTP binding proteins, either stimulatory Gα or inhibitory Gα that in turn regulate cAMP production in Sc. The cytosolic concentration of cAMP being generated by FSH-R thereafter critically determines the downstream fate of the FSH signalling.

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Background: Infertility has become a global phenomenon and constantly declining sperm count in males in modern world pose a major threat to procreation of humans. Male fertility is critically dependent on proper functioning of testicular Sertoli cells. Defective Sertoli cell proliferation and/or impaired functional maturation may be one of the underlying causes of idiopathic male infertility.

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The term "Puberty", socially known as "Adolescence" is the transitional period from juvenile life to adulthood with functional maturation of gonads and genital organs. In this process, some remarkable developmental changes occur in morphology, physiology, and behavior leading to reproductive competence. Despite sufficient levels of gonadotropins (luteinizing hormone [LH] and follicle-stimulating hormone [FSH]), robust spermatogenesis is not initiated during infancy in primates due to the immaturity of testicular Sertoli cells.

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The transition of testicular Sertoli cells (Sc) from a proliferative state during infancy to a non proliferative functionally mature state at the onset of puberty is essential for proper spermatogenic progression. The Hippo signaling pathway is a conserved growth control pathway that has been shown to play a crucial role in regulating proliferation and differentiation of different cell types. However, the expression pattern of the pathway components relative to proliferative infant Sc and functionally mature pubertal Sc is not known.

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The somatic component of seminiferous epithelium, the Sertoli cells (Sc) respond to Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and Testosterone (T) to produce factors which are necessary for germ cell (Gc) survival and differentiation. Infant Sc do not support spermatogenesis in spite of sufficient hormonal milieu, a situation similar to that found in male idiopathic infertility. Sc maturation during pubertal period involves expression of some genes which may be important for initiation of spermatogenesis.

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Globally, there is an alarming decline in sperm count. Very often hormonal supplementation fails to restore normal sperm count. Sertoli cells (Sc) present within seminiferous tubules provide appropriate niche and factors required for the differentiation of germ cells (Gc) into mature sperm (spermatogenesis).

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FSH mediated cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling is crucial for function of testicular Sertoli cells (Sc) during puberty. Yes-kinase Associated Protein (YAP), a transcriptional co-activator, regulates cell proliferation and differentiation. However, its role in testicular function is not known.

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