Biology of Reproduction, Vol 11, 365-376, Copyright © 1974 by Society for the Study of Reproduction

RNA Synthetic Activities of Sertoli Cells in the Mouse Testis

¹ Department of Anatomy and Laboratories for Reproductive Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514

Electron microscope autoradiographic studies of RNA synthesis in Sertoli cells of the adult mouse, using [³H]uridine as a precursor, show a random distribution of grains in the nucleoplasmic area and a localized product on the nucleolar fibrillar component at early labeling times (15 min). The condensed chromatin bodies associated with the nucleolus seem to have a nucleolar organizing function. At later labeling times (3 h) certain interchromatin granules occurring in clusters in the nucleoplasm become partially labeled. After 7-8 days, the disappearance of label from Sertoli cells, contrasting with the longer persistence in spermatocytes, suggests a rapid turnover of RNA in Sertoli cells. Differential labeling patterns and structural changes in Sertoli cells cytoplasm are related to variations in functional activities presumably required for normal spermatogenesis and/or spermiogenesis.

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