Serge Nef
S. Nef is Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, UniGe. He investigates the molecular mechanisms regulating gonadal differentiation and testicular function in mammals. His laboratory uses molecular, cellular and mouse functional genomics as well as human genetics to investigate the complex gene networks that regulate primary sex determination, testis development, and function. In recent years, his laboratory has developed expertise in analyzing single-cell RNA sequencing data. This allows better characterization of cell lineages in vivo and the study of the complex mechanisms of gonadal differentiation in combination with transgenic mouse models. In particular, his laboratory is investigating how cell fate decisions are made during testicular and ovarian differentiation. This includes a detailed study of the origin and specification of the adrenogonadal primordium into adrenals and gonads (Neirijnck et al. Cell Reports 2023). They identified Wnt5a+ steroidogenic progenitors as bona fide Leydig cell progenitors that give rise to the majority of fetal and adult Leydig cells in the testes (Ademi et al. Cell Reports, 2022). They also recently characterized the gene expression dynamics in the mouse germ cell lineage during the process of sex determination (Mayère et al. FASEB, 2021). A major focus has been on the supporting cell lineage, as the specification of supporting progenitors into Sertoli or granulosa cells is the first crucial event in mammalian sex determination (Stévant et al. Cell Reports, 2018, Stévant et al. Cell Reports 2019). This includes an extended characterization of the fate and (trans)differentiation of the supporting cell lineage during embryonic development and adulthood (Rossito et al. Nature Com. 2022). They are currently investigating the specification, sex-specific differentiation and functions of a poorly characterized population of supporting-like cells at the origin of the rete testis and rete ovaries (Mayère et al. Science Adv. 2022).
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