HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 74/5/798    most recent biolreprod.105.050450v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Tarulli, G. A. Articles by Meachem, S. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Tarulli, G. A. Articles by Meachem, S. J. Agricola Articles by Tarulli, G. A. Articles by Meachem, S. J.

Adult Sertoli Cells Are Not Terminally Differentiated in the Djungarian Hamster: Effect of FSH on Proliferation and Junction Protein Organization¹

Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research,³ Clayton Victoria, 3168, Australia School of Engineering and Science,⁴ International University Bremen, Bremen 28758, Germany Institute of Reproductive Medicine,⁵ University of Münster, Münster 48129, Germany

ABSTRACT

Sertoli cell number is considered to be stable and unmodifiable by hormones after puberty in mammals, although recent data using the seasonal breeding adult Djungarian hamster (Phodopus sungorus) model challenged this assertion by demonstrating a decrease in Sertoli cell number after gonadotropin depletion and a return to control levels following 7 days of FSH replacement. The present study aimed to determine whether adult Sertoli cells are terminally differentiated using known characteristics of cellular differentiation, including proliferation, junction protein localization, and expression of particular maturational markers, in the Djungarian hamster model. Adult long-day (LD) photoperiod (16L:8D) hamsters were exposed to short-day (SD) photoperiod (8L:16D) for 11 wk to suppress gonadotropins and then received exogenous FSH for up to 10 days. Sertoli cell proliferation was assessed by immunofluorescence by the colocalization of GATA4 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen and quantified by stereology. Markers of Sertoli cell maturation (immature, cytokeratin 18 [KRT18]; mature, GATA1) and junction proteins (actin, espin, claudin 11 [CLDN11], and tight junction protein 1 [TJP1, also known as ZO-1]) also were localized using confocal immunofluorescence. In response to FSH treatment, proliferation was upregulated within 2 days compared with SD controls (90% vs. 0.2%, P < 0.001) and declined gradually thereafter. In LD hamsters, junction proteins colocalized at the basal aspect of Sertoli cells, consistent with inter-Sertoli cell junctions, and were disordered within the Sertoli cell cytoplasm in SD animals. Exogenous FSH treatment promptly restored localization of these junction markers to the LD phenotype. Protein markers of maturity remain consistent with those of adult Sertoli cells. It is concluded that adult Sertoli cells are not terminally differentiated in the Djungarian hamster and that FSH plays an important role in governing the differentiation process. It is proposed that Sertoli cells can enter a transitional state, exhibiting features common to both undifferentiated and differentiated Sertoli cells.

seasonal reproduction, spermatogenesis, testis

¹ Supported by the Wellcome Trust Fellow Scheme, U.K. 058479 (S.J.M.), and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Program Grant 241000 (S.J.M. and P.G.S.)

² Correspondence: Sarah Meachem, Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research, Monash Medical Centre, Block E, Level 4, 246 Clayton Road, Clayton, Victoria, 3168 Australia. FAX: 61 3 9594 6125; sarah.meachem{at}princehenrys.org

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. A Tarulli, S. J Meachem, S. Schlatt, and P. G Stanton Regulation of testicular tight junctions by gonadotrophins in the adult Djungarian hamster in vivo Reproduction, June 1, 2008; 135(6): 867 - 877. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J.-B. Stukenborg, J. Wistuba, C. M. Luetjens, M. A. Elhija, M. Huleihel, E. Lunenfeld, J. Gromoll, E. Nieschlag, and S. Schlatt Coculture of Spermatogonia With Somatic Cells in a Novel Three-Dimensional Soft-Agar-Culture-System J Androl, May 1, 2008; 29(3): 312 - 329. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. J Kaitu'u-Lino, P. Sluka, C. F H Foo, and P. G Stanton Claudin-11 expression and localisation is regulated by androgens in rat Sertoli cells in vitro Reproduction, June 1, 2007; 133(6): 1169 - 1179. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. J Meachem, S. Schlatt, S. M Ruwanpura, and P. G Stanton The effect of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone and oestradiol on the re-initiation of spermatogenesis in the adult photoinhibited Djungarian hamster J. Endocrinol., March 1, 2007; 192(3): 553 - 561. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]