Sertoli cells play a significant role in regulating fetal testis compartmentalization to generate testis cords and interstitium during development. The Sertoli cell Wilms' tumor 1 (Wt1) gene, which encodes ~24 zinc finger-containing transcription factors, is known to play a crucial role in fetal testis cord assembly and maintenance. However, whether Wt1 regulates fetal testis compartmentalizati...

Rat and human Sertoli cells in culture secrete a growth factor, Sertoli cell secreted growth factor (SCSGF). The aims of the present study were (1) to evaluate other testicular cell types as additional sources of SCSGF, as well as their paracrine effect, and (2) to study the hormonal regulation of SCSGF secretion using an A431 cell growth assay. The Sertoli cell was the only testicular cell typ...

Sertoli cells regulate differentiation and development of the testis and are essential for maintaining adult testis function. To model the effects of dysregulating Sertoli cell number during development or aging, we have used acute diphtheria toxin-mediated cell ablation to reduce Sertoli cell population size. Results show that the size of the Sertoli cell population that forms during developme...

The critical influence of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) on male fertility relates both to its impact on Sertoli cell proliferation in perinatal life and to its influence on the synthesis of Sertoli cell-derived products essential for germ cell survival and function in the developing adult testis. The nature and timing of this shift of germ cells to their reliance on specific Sertoli cell-d...

Inhibin immunoreactivity was estimated in a number of gonadal and non-gonadal tumors. Dog Sertoli cell tumors and human granulosa cell and Leydig cell tumors contained high concentrations of inhibin-like material. Levels, comparable with those in normal testes and ovaries were detected in human testicular non-seminomas and in ovarian cystadenomas, thecomas and adenofibromas. No activity was fou...

The three-dimensional structure of the Sertoli cell in the miniature "shiba" goat was examined using scanning electron microscopy. In the basal portion of the seminiferous epithelium, spermatogonia and/or spermatocytes were located in compartments enclosed by adjacent Sertoli cells. From the basal aspect, they were situated in successive recesses. In the middle portion, early round spermatids h...

Sertoli cell is the “nurse” in testes that regulates germ cell proliferation and differentiation. One Sertoli cell supports a certain number of germ cells during these processes. Thus, it is the determinant of male reproductive capability. Sertoli cells originate from the primitive gonads during embryonic stage and their proliferations continue throughout the pre-pubertal stage. The proliferati...

Testicular peritubular cells produce a paracrine factor termed PModS that has dramatic effects on Sertoli cell function in vitro. The current study was designed to examine the actions of PModS and hormones on Sertoli cell aromatase activity and plasminogen activator production at various stages of pubertal development. Sertoli cells were isolated from 10-, 20-, and 35-day-old rats (ages corresp...

Dye coupling experiments were performed to determine whether the gap junctions connecting Sertoli cells with other Sertoli cells and different germ cell stages in rats showed functional variations. Chop loading of adult rat seminiferous tubules was conducted using fluorescent dextran controls and a variety of low-molecular-weight tracers (lucifer yellow, biotin-X-cadaverine, biotin cadaverine, ...