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The insulin/IGF system in mammalian sexual development and reproduction

Published inInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 20, no. 18, E4440
Publication date2019
Abstract

Persistent research over the past few decades has clearly established that the insulin-like family of growth factors, which is composed of insulin and insulin-like growth factors 1 (IGF1) and 2 (IGF2), plays essential roles in sexual development and reproduction of both males and females. Within the male and female reproductive organs, ligands of the family act in an autocrine/paracrine manner, in order to guide different aspects of gonadogenesis, sex determination, sex-specific development or reproductive performance. Although our knowledge has greatly improved over the last years, there are still several facets that remain to be deciphered. In this review, we first briefly outline the principles of sexual development and insulin/IGF signaling, and then present our current knowledge, both in rodents and humans, about the involvement of insulin/IGFs in sexual development and reproductive functions. We conclude by highlighting some interesting remarks and delineating certain unanswered questions that need to be addressed in future studies.

Citation (ISO format)
NEIRIJNCK, Yasmine, PAPAIOANNOU, Maria-Eleni, NEF, Serge. The insulin/IGF system in mammalian sexual development and reproduction. In: International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2019, vol. 20, n° 18, p. E4440. doi: 10.3390/ijms20184440
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Journal ISSN1661-6596
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148downloads

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Creation01/11/2019 10:40:00
First validation01/11/2019 10:40:00
Update time17/01/2025 16:52:14
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