Sertoli cells are immune privileged cells, important for controlling the immune response to male germ cells as well as maintaining the tolerogenic environment in the testis. Additionally, ectopic Sertoli cells have been shown to survive and protect co-grafted cells when transplanted across immunological barriers. The survival of ectopic Sertoli cells has led to the idea that they could be used ...

One of the major proteins secreted by Sertoli cells (Band 3) has a molecular weight on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels which corresponds to rat serum transferrin. The preparation of Sertoli cell-secreted proteins contains an iron-binding protein with electrophoretic properties on native polyacrylamide gels similar to serum transferrin. Antibodies against Sertoli cell-secreted protein...

The receptors for the steroid hormone testosterone and the peptide hormone follicle-stimulating hormone are localized to the somatic Sertoli cell in the seminiferous epithelium. In the rat, prolonged gonadotrophic hormone withdrawal has been shown to result in substantial germ cell apoptosis. Previous studies have shown that, coincident with the loss of germ cells following hypophysectomy, the ...

Potential therapeutic use of stem cells in the treatment of human diseases depends on our ability to control the balance of their differentiation and self-renewal in vitro and in vivo. The stem cell "niche," or specialized microenvironment, is now recognized as one of the major contributors to this regulation in many species. Our recent study, which was reported in Nature, was the first to demo...

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...

STUDY QUESTION Can human Sertoli cells cultured in vitro and that have formed an epithelium be used as a model to monitor toxicant-induced junction disruption and to better understand the mechanism(s) by which toxicants disrupt cell adhesion at the Sertoli cell blood-testis barrier (BTB)? SUMMARY ANSWER Our findings illustrate that human Sertoli cells cultured in vitro serve as a reliable sys...

Tsx is a gene of unknown function that was previously shown to be expressed specifically in the testis. In order to gain insight into the function of Tsx its pattern of expression was characterized with regard to both timing and cell type in the testis. Northern blot analysis of early postnatal testes showed not only that Tsx message was detectable shortly after birth, but that it increased sub...

Changes in Sertoli cell numbers and testicular structure during normal development and compensatory hypertrophy were assessed in crossbred Meishan x White Composite males. Boars were assigned at birth to unilateral castration at 1, 10, 56, or 112 days or to remain as intact controls through 220 days. The first testes removed were compared to assess testicular development. At 220 days, testicula...

Spermatogenesis is a costly process that is expected to be under selection to maximise sperm quantity and quality. Testis size is often regarded as a proxy measure of sperm investment, implicitly overlooking the quantitative assessment of spermatogenesis. An enhanced understanding of testicular function, beyond testis size, may reveal further sexual traits involved in sperm quantity and quality...

The Sertoli cell is a highly differentiated somatic cell in the seminiferous epithelium of the testis. This cell is of prime importance for both testicular development and spermatogenesis. Sertoli cells proliferate up to the start of puberty and, due to their nursing functions, the final Sertoli cell number is well correlated to the amount of germ cells produced by the adult testis. The physiol...