Low retinoic acid levels mediate regionalization of the Sertoli valve in the terminal segment of mouse seminiferous tubules.

ABSTRACT: In mammalian testes, undifferentiated spermatogonia (A_undiff) undergo differentiation in response to retinoic acid (RA), while their progenitor states are partially maintained by fibroblast growth factors (FGFs). Sertoli valve (SV) is a region located at the terminal end of seminiferous tubule (ST) adjacent to the rete testis (RT), where the high density of A_undiff is constitutively maintained with the absence of active spermatogenesis. However, the molecular and cellular characteristics of SV epithelia still remain unclear. In this study, we first identified the region-specific AKT phosphorylation in the SV Sertoli cells and demonstrated non-cell autonomous specialization of Sertoli cells in the SV region by performing a Sertoli cell ablation/replacement experiment.

SUBMITTER: Imura-Kishi K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7806815 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature