Cadherin-18 loss in prospermatogonia and spermatogonial stem cells enhances cell adhesion through a compensatory mechanism.

ABSTRACT: Extracellular membrane proteins are crucial for mediating cell attachment, recognition, and signal transduction in the testicular microenvironment, particularly germline stem cells. Cadherin 18 (CDH18), a type II classical cadherin, is primarily expressed in the nervous and reproductive systems. Here, we investigated the expression of CDH18 in neonatal porcine prospermatogonia (ProSGs) and murine spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). Disruption of CDH18 expression did not adversely affect cell morphology, proliferation, self-renewal, or differentiation in cultured porcine ProSGs, but enhanced cell adhesion and prolonged cell maintenance. Transcriptomic analysis indicated that the down-regulation of CDH18 in ProSGs significantly up-regulated genes and signaling pathways associated with c

SUBMITTER: Li XX 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11491781 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature