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

Sci Rep. 2021 Jan 13;11(1):1110. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-79987-4.

Abstract

In mammalian testes, undifferentiated spermatogonia (Aundiff) 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 Aundiff 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. The expression of Fgf9 was detected in the RT epithelia, while the exogenous administration of FGF9 caused ectopic AKT phosphorylation in the Sertoli cells of convoluted ST. Furthermore, we revealed the SV region-specific expression of Cyp26a1, which encodes an RA-degrading enzyme, and demonstrated that the increased RA levels in the SV region disrupt its pool of Aundiff by inducing their differentiation. Taken together, RT-derived FGFs and low levels of RA signaling contribute to the non-cell-autonomous regionalization of the SV epithelia and its local maintenance of Aundiff in the SV region.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Epithelium / physiology
  • Fibroblast Growth Factors / genetics
  • Fibroblast Growth Factors / metabolism
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Phosphorylation
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / metabolism
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / analysis
  • Regeneration
  • Retinoic Acid 4-Hydroxylase / genetics
  • Retinoic Acid 4-Hydroxylase / metabolism
  • Seminiferous Tubules / drug effects
  • Seminiferous Tubules / growth & development
  • Seminiferous Tubules / metabolism*
  • Sertoli Cells / metabolism*
  • Sertoli Cells / physiology
  • Sertoli Cells / transplantation
  • Signal Transduction
  • Spermatogenesis
  • Tretinoin / metabolism*
  • Tretinoin / pharmacology
  • Up-Regulation

Substances

  • Kit protein, mouse
  • Tretinoin
  • Fibroblast Growth Factors
  • Cyp26a1 protein, mouse
  • Retinoic Acid 4-Hydroxylase
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt