The Rel/nuclear factor (NF)-kB family of transcription factors are important intracellular conveyors of extracellular signals in a number of systems. However, little is known of their roles in the specialized, hormonally regulated environment of the mammalian testis. In this study NF-kB p50 and p65 proteins were found to be constitutively present and active in the nucleus of Sertoli cells cultu...

We have identified a liver-regulating protein involved in cell contact-mediated regulation of Sertoli cell function by primary spermatocytes in rat testis. Liver-regulating protein was studied using monoclonal antibody L8 prepared from rat primitive biliary epithelial cells. This molecule was located in vivo at the interface of Sertoli cells and spermatocytes, and expressed in a stage-dependent...

Primary cell culture is an established and widely used technique to study Sertoli cell function in vitro. However, the relative difficulty of stably overexpressing or knocking down genes in Sertoli cell culture has limited progress in the field. In this technical report, we present a method to transduce 20 dpp rat Sertoli cell cultures with VSV-G pseudotyped lentiviral based vectors at a high r...

background: artesunate is commonly used in malaria therapy. many antimalarial drugs have been associated with male reproductive dysfunction. the effect of artesunate on male reproductive activities was studied using in–vivo and in-vitro experimental models. methods: adult male rats (n=6) were orally given artesunate (2.9 mg/kg body weight) on daily basis for five days. artesunate (2.9 mg/kg bod...

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a heparan sulfate (HS)-binding factor. GDNF is produced by somatic Sertoli cells, where it signals to maintain spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) and reproduction. Here, we investigate the roles of extracellular HS 6-O-endosulfatases (Sulfs), Sulf1 and Sulf2, in the matrix transmission of GDNF from Sertoli cells to SSCs. Although Sulfs are not...

One hundred one azoospermic males were subjected to fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the testis and 11 of them underwent testicular biopsy as well. In 99 cases, the aspiration was adequate for classifying into different categories, which are as follows: Sertoli cell only syndrome (46), normal spermatogenesis (27), hypospermatogenesis (10), tubular/peritubular sclerosis (10) and maturat...

Background: Novel roles for the interaction of cardiotonic steroids to Na+/K+-ATPase have been established in recent years. The aim of the present study was to investigate the intracellular signaling events downstream the action of ouabain on Na+/K+-ATPase in Sertoli cell obtained from immature rats. Treatment of Sertoli cells with ouabain (1 μM) induced a rapid and transient increase in the ex...

A 46 year old tennis player was addressed to our clinic after incidental finding of right testicular calcification on plain x-ray of the spine. Urologic consultation revealed a hard non-tender testicular mass which required inguinal orchiectomy. Final histology revealed large cell calcifying Sertoli cell tumor: we herein present the case and review current physiopathology of such rare testicula...

Thyroid hormone regulates early postnatal Sertoli cell proliferation. Transient neonatal hypothyroidism allows prolonged postnatal Sertoli cell mitogenesis and doubles adult Sertoli cell numbers, testis weight, and sperm production. The mechanism of this effect is unknown. Cell proliferation is stimulated by cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases and inhibited by cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor...