NF-κB in Male Reproduction: A Boon or a Bane?

The apoptotic process involved in the male reproductive system regulates the ability of the male to fertilize and pass on his genes through the process of spermatogenesis. Numerous factors are involved in mediating this essential and intricate process. It is known that without programmed cell death there would be an overwhelming amount of chaos within the seminiferous tubules of the testis, which would lead to dysfunctional spermatogenesis, and problems within the male reproductive system. Of the factors effecting testicular apoptosis, we are interested in studying the effects of Nuclear Factor kappa B (NF-κB) as well as select cytokines as they appear to have a significant role in germ cell death. Other mediators will also be briefly discussed in this paper.