Occludin is the only integral membrane protein identified to date as a component of tight junctions (TJs). Here, we examined the distribution and expression of occludin in murine testis bearing well-developed TJ. In the adult mouse testis, occludin was concentrated at TJ strands, which are located at the most basal regions of lateral membranes of Sertoli cells. In immunoblotting, occludin showe...

Mutant mice of Sl/Sf genotype are deficient in melanocytes, erythrocytes, mast cells and germ cells. Deficiency of melanocytes, erythrocytes and mast cells is not attributable to an intrinsic defect in their precursor cells but to a defect in the tissue environment that is necessary for migration, proliferation and/or differentiation. We investigated the mechanism of germ cell deficiency in mal...

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...

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 isoforms of the highly conserved and ubiquitously expressed 14-3-3 family of proteins function primarily as adapters that modulate interactions between components of various cellular signaling and cell cycle regulatory pathways. Low levels of 14-3-3 isoforms appear to be expressed in most tissues, but specific isoforms or combinations have been shown to be overexpressed in a cell-specific m...

Two types of testicular tumor were evident in cyprinid fishes collected from Lake Ontario. Both types of tumors appeared to be of Sertoli cell origin. One contained predominantly Sertoli cells with little or no lipid content and germinal cells in only small numbers. The second contained large numbers of spermatogonia together with Sertoli cells that contained large amounts of lipid and smooth e...

Peritubular cells of the seminiferous tubule synthesize component(s) that stimulate Sertoli cells in culture to increase the production of androgen-binding protein and testicular transferrin. The active peritubular cell component(s) are trypsin-sensitive, heat-sensitive, acid-stable molecule(s) having a molecular weight between 50,000 and 100,000. These specific factors(s) are referred to as P ...

In mammals, the supporting cell lineage in an embryonic gonad communicates the sex-determining decision to various sexually dimorphic cell types in the developing embryo, including the germ cells. However, the molecular nature of the sex-determining signals that pass from the supporting cells to the germ cells is not well understood. We have identified a conserved transmembrane protein, Sdmg1, ...

Sertoli cells are an essential group of cells in seminiferous epithelium which provide nutritional and structural supports for spermatogenic cells via cell junctions. In this study, the gene expression of connexin-43, the most abundantly distributed gap junction protein of cells, was investigated in ram Sertoli cells under mild and severe heat stresses with real-time quantitative PCR. Sertoli c...