Sertoli cells, the primary somatic cell in the seminiferous epithelium, provide the spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) microenvironment (niche) through physical support and the expression of paracrine factors. However, the regulatory mechanisms within the SSC niche, which is primarily controlled by Sertoli cells, remain largely unknown. GATA4 is a Sertoli cell marker, involved in genital ridge init...

Testicular Sertoli cells protect pancreatic islet grafts from alloand autoimmune destruction; however, the mechanism(s) of protection is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether Fas ligand (FasL) and/ or transforming growth factor (TGF), immunoregulatory proteins produced by Sertoli cells, might mediate the protective effects of these cells against autoimmune destruction of islet...

Sertoli cell-only syndrome is defined by the complete absence of germ cells in testicular tissues and always results in male infertility. Germ cells give rise to next stages of spermatogenesis which is the process of sperm formation. They are normally attached to Sertoli cells forming together so called seminiferous tubules which form testicular tissue. If there are only Sertoli cells, then ​ n...

Sertoli cell-only syndrome is defined by the complete absence of germ cells in testicular tissues and always results in male infertility. Germ cells give rise to next stages of spermatogenesis which is the process of sperm formation. They are normally attached to Sertoli cells forming together so called seminiferous tubules which form testicular tissue. If there are only Sertoli cells, then ​ n...

The techniques of cell culture and molecular biology first revealed that Sertoli cells synthesize transferrin. Accumulated biological information led to a plausible model for the role of testicular transferrin in an iron shuttle system designed to transport ferric ions around the cellular tight junctions to the germ cells inside the blood-testis barrier. Experiments done in culture and in vivo ...

Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) is an environmental toxicant used in developing countries, including China, as a stain repellent for clothing, carpets and draperies, but it has been banned in the U.S. and Canada since the late 2000s. PFOS perturbed the Sertoli cell tight junction (TJ)-permeability barrier, causing disruption of actin microfilaments in cell cytosol, perturbing the localization o...

Granulosa cell tumors are representative of estrogenic ovarian tumors, and some Sertoli-stromal cell tumors are also estrogenic. The exact cells that are responsible for estrogenesis, however, have yet to be identified. In the present study, 25 sex cord-stromal tumors (20 granulosa cell tumors, 4 Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors, and a Sertoli cell tumor) were immunohistochemically examined for expre...

Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor of the ovary is a kind of sex cord-stromal tumor, which occurs between teens and twenties with symptoms including abdominal pain and swelling. The incidence rate is infinitely rare comprising less than 0.5% of all ovarian tumor. The average age of “retiform Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor” is 17 years as compared to 25 years for Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors as a group. We have...

Human Sertoli cell parameters, namely lactate, estradiol-17 beta, and transferrin production, were determined after a 24-hour incubation with either human follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) or dbcAMP in the presence or absence of testosterone plus a phosphodiesterase inhibitor (1-methyl-3-isobutylxanthine; MIX). Testicular tissues were obtained from 10 young patients (mean age, 29 years); using...

BACKGROUND The disorders comprising human 'testicular dysgenesis syndrome' (TDS) may be increasing in incidence. TDS originates in fetal life but the mechanisms are not known, and discerning them requires an animal model. METHODS AND RESULTS The study investigated whether male rats exposed in utero to dibutyl phthalate [DBP; 500 mg/kg on gestational days (GD) 13-21] would provide a suitable m...