Postnatal Sertoli cell maturation is characterized by a pronounced rise in androgen receptor (AR) expression, which increases several fold between birth and adulthood. Since both 3,3',5-triiodothyronine (T3) and FSH regulate Sertoli cell proliferation and differentiation, we have determined the effects of T3 and FSH on AR mRNA expression in cultured Sertoli cells from 5-day-old rats. These cult...

Members of the winged helix transcription factor family are known to regulate epithelial cell differentiation by regulating cell-specific gene expression. rWIN is a newly discovered member of the winged helix family shown to be present in the adult rat testis. In the testis the human homolog of rWIN, HFH-11, was localized to the germ cells (i.e. spermatocytes and spermatids) undergoing spermato...

A major function of xenobiotic and endobiotic transporters is to move a wide range of organic substances across cell membranes. Sertoli cells play an important role in protecting developing germ cells by forming a physiological barrier, limiting exposure to potentially toxic substrates, or conversely, facilitating uptake of xenobiotics within the testis. The aim of this study was to quantitativ...

The secretions of the Sertoli cell were examined with two polyvalent antisera--one prepared against proteins in rat serum and the other against testis-specific proteins in rete testis fluid. These antisera detected 12 serum and 9 testis-specific proteins in rete testis fluid. To determine the origin of these proteins, primary cultures enriched in Sertoli cells were incubated with [35S]methionin...

A putative messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence, designated C8, that was up-regulated in Sertoli cells prepared from hypophysectomized rats treated with testosterone, was isolated from a Sertoli cell complementary DNA (cDNA) library. The coding region of C8 exhibited 99% identity with rat brain ecto-ATPase and expressed a 60-kilodalton protein following in vitro transcription/translation. Transfection...

Tissue integrity relies on barriers formed between epithelial cells. In the testis, the barrier is formed at the initiation of puberty by a tight junction complex between adjacent Sertoli cells, thereby defining an adluminal compartment where meiosis and spermiogenesis occur. Claudin 11 is an obligatory protein for tight junction formation and barrier integrity in the testis. It is expressed by...

The blood-testis barrier (BTB) is a large junctional complex composed of tight junctions, adherens junctions, and gap junctions between adjacent Sertoli cells in the seminiferous tubules of the testis. Maintenance of the BTB as well as the controlled disruption and reformation of the barrier is essential for spermatogenesis and male fertility. Tyrosine phosphorylation of BTB proteins is known t...

Testosterone is essential to maintain spermatogenesis and male fertility. In the absence of testosterone stimulation, spermatogenesis does not proceed beyond the meiosis stage. After withdrawal of testosterone, germ cells that have progressed beyond meiosis detach from supporting Sertoli cells and die, whereas mature sperm cannot be released from Sertoli cells resulting in infertility. The clas...

Phthalate esters have been extensively used as a plasticizer of synthetic polymers. Previous studies have revealed that some phthalate esters including di(n-butyl) phthalate (DBP) induce spermatogenic cell apoptosis, although its mechanism is not yet clear. The present study describes that disruption of Sertoli cell vimentin filaments by DBP administration may relate to spermatogenic cell apopt...

background: the anticancer agent imatinib (im) is a small molecular analog ofatp that inhibits tyrosine kinase activity of platelet derived growth factors (pdgfs)and stem cell factor (scf) receptor in cancer cells. however these factors have a keyrole in regulating growth and development of normal sertoli, leydig and germcells.objective: the aim of this study was to determine cell viability, pd...