AIM To determine the effectiveness of the sk11, sk9 and sk11 TNUA5 Sertoli cell lines in binding germ cells in vitro. METHODS The immortalized Sertoli cell lines sk9, sk11 and sk11 TNUA5 were used in co-culture experiments with germ cells in media with or without reproductive hormones and incubated for 44 h at 32 degrees . The number of germ cells bound to Sertoli cells was then determined an...

In multicellular organisms, cell-cell interactions are mediated in part by cell junctions, which underlie tissue architecture. Throughout spermatogenesis, for instance, preleptotene leptotene spermatocytes residing in the basal compartment of the seminiferous epithelium must traverse the blood-testis barrier to enter the adluminal compartment for continued development. At the same time, germ ce...

UNLABELLED During establishment of spermatogenesis at the prepubertal age, an early germ cells apoptotic wave occurs likely aimed to remove abnormal germ cells and to maintain a proper cell number ratio between maturating germ cells and Sertoli cells. Here we assessed Sertoli and germ cell apoptosis in relation to morphological parameters of Sertoli cell maturation in neonatal rats under the in...

Androgen and androgen receptor (AR) play important roles in male spermatogenesis and fertility, yet detailed androgen/AR signals in Sertoli cells remain unclear. To identify AR target genes in Sertoli cells, we analyzed the gene expression profiles of testis between mice lacking AR in Sertoli cells (S-AR(-/y)) and their littermate wild-type (WT) mice. Digital gene expression analysis identified...

Maintenance of cell polarity is essential for Sertoli cell and blood-testis barrier (BTB) function and spermatogenesis; however, the signaling mechanisms that regulate the integrity of the cytoskeleton and polarity of Sertoli cells are not fully understood. Here, we demonstrate that rapamycin-insensitive component of target of rapamycin (TOR) (Rictor), a core component of mechanistic TOR comple...

Spermatogenesis is a highly regulated process of germ cell proliferation and differentiation, starting from spermatogonia to spermatocytes and giving rise to spermatids, the future spermatozoa. In addition to endocrine regulation, testicular cell-cell interactions are essential for spermatogenesis. This precise control is mediated through paracrine/autocrine pathways, direct intercellular conta...

Sertoli cells play a pivotal role in spermatogenesis through their interactions with germ cells. To set up a strategy for treating male infertility caused by Sertoli cell dysfunction, we developed a Sertoli cell gene transfer system by using an adenovirus vector, which maintained long-term transgene expression in the testes of infertile mice. Introduction of an adenovirus carrying the mouse Ste...

Oestradiol secretion by isolated Leydig cells, Sertoli cells, myoid cells, germinal cells and liver cells from rats of different ages was measured by a validated radioimmunoassay technique. All cells, except germinal cells and liver cells, produced oestradiol when incubated in the presence of testosterone. Sertoli cells from 7- and 10-day-old rats and from prenatally irradiated adult rats were ...

Sertoli cell preparations isolated from 10-day-old rats were cultured on three different substrates: plastic, a matrix deposited by co-culture of Sertoli and peritubular myoid cells, and a reconstituted basement membrane gel from the EHS tumor. When grown on plastic, Sertoli cells formed a squamous monolayer that did not retain contaminating germ cells. Grown on the matrix deposited by Sertoli-...

background new research proposes the pluripotency of spermatogonial cells obtained from testis. these spermatogonia-derived stem cells are called embryonic stem-like cells that express embryonic stem cell markers and differentiate to the three germ layers. objectives the aim of the present study was to generate embryonic stem-like cells from neonatal mouse testis. materials and methods the test...