Sertoli cells are capable of proliferation into adulthood in the transition region between the seminiferous tubules and the rete testis in Wistar rats
Sertoli cells (SCs) play a crucial role in testis differentiation, development and function, determining the magnitude of sperm production in sexually mature animals. For over 40 years, it has been considered that these key testis somatic cells stop dividing during early pre-pubertal phase, between...
| Autores: | , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2016 |
| País: | Brasil |
| Institución: | Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA) |
| Repositorio: | Repositório Institucional do INPA |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:repositorio:1/15800 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://repositorio.inpa.gov.br/handle/1/15800 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Androgen Receptor Broxuridine Ki 67 Antigen Protein P27 Transcription Factor Gata 4 Biological Marker Adult Adulthood Animals Cell Animals Experiment Cell Differentiation Cell Proliferation Male Nonhuman Phenotype Prepuberty Protein Expression Rat Rete Testis Seminiferous Tubule Sertoli Cell Testis Function Aging Animals Cytology Fluorescent Antibody Technique Metabolism Physiology Sexual Maturation Wistar Rat Animal Biomarkers Bromodeoxyuridine Gata4 Transcription Factor Rats, Wistar Receptors, Androgen Seminiferous Tubules Sertoli Cells |
| Sumario: | Sertoli cells (SCs) play a crucial role in testis differentiation, development and function, determining the magnitude of sperm production in sexually mature animals. For over 40 years, it has been considered that these key testis somatic cells stop dividing during early pre-pubertal phase, between around 10 to 20 days after birth respectively in mice and rats, being after that under physiological conditions a stable and terminally differentiated population. However, evidences from the literature are challenging this dogma. In the present study, using several important functional markers (Ki-67, BrdU, p27, GATA-4, Androgen Receptor), we investigated the SC differentiation status in 36 days old and adult Wistar rats, focusing mainly in the transition region (TR) between the seminiferous tubules (ST) and the rete testis. Our results showed that SCs in TR remain undifferentiated for a longer period and, although at a lesser degree, even in adult rats proliferating SCs were observed in this region. Therefore, these findings suggest that, different from the other ST regions investigated, SCs residing in the TR exhibit a distinct functional phenotype. These undifferentiated SCs may compose a subpopulation of SC progenitors that reside in a specific microenvironment capable of growing the ST length if needed from this particular testis region. Moreover, our findings demonstrate an important aspect of testis function in mammals and opens new venues for other experimental approaches to the investigation of SC physiology, spermatogenesis progression and testis growth. Besides that, the TR may represent an important site for pathophysiological investigations and cellular interactions in the testis. © 2016 Taylor & Francis. |
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