Faculty and Research Interests

Suresh Ramaswamy
Ph.D., University of Mysore, Mysore, India

The research objectives are to systematically examine, by integrating physiological, cellular, and molecular approaches, the impact of endocrine disrupters on postnatal testicular development using the non-human primate (rhesus monkey) model. Current thinking is that endocrine disrupters account, in part, for an increase in the development of reproductive disorders in boys and a decline in sperm count in men. The putative adverse effects of endocrine disrupters on the developing testis may manifest indirectly by interfering along the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis or directly at the level of the testis to compromise reproductive functions.
To address the direct testicular effects of endocrine disrupters during puberty, prepubertal primate 'testicular clamp' preparation is used as an experimental model, and, in the presence of endocrine disrupters, 'testicular puberty' is induced by stimulating the testes of the immature monkey in a physiological manner with exogenous recombinant gonadotropins (FSH and LH). The focus of research is to identify in the primate testis the cell types (Sertoli, Leydig, and stem germ cells) and their specific endocrine/paracrine functions that are vulnerable to actions of endocrine disrupters during puberty. In collaboration with other members of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Research in Reproductive Physiology, alterations in the cell signaling mechanisms and functional integrity of genes due to endocrine disruption will be characterized.

Representative Publications

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