Introduction: Sertoli cells play central roles in the development of testis formation in fetuses and the initiation and maintenance of spermatogenesis in puberty and adulthood, and disorders of Sertoli cell proliferation and/or functional maturation can cause male reproductive disorders at various life stages. It's well documented that various genes are either overexpressed or absent in Sertoli cells during the conversion of an immature, proliferating Sertoli cell to a mature, non-proliferating Sertoli cell, which are considered as Sertoli cell stage-specific markers. Thus, it is paramount to choose an appropriate Sertoli cell marker that will be used not only to identify the developmental, proliferative, and maturation of Sertoli cell status in the testis during the fetal period, prepuberty, puberty, or in the adult, but also to diagnose the mechanisms underlying spermatogenic dysfunction.
Areas covered: In this review, we principally enumerated 5 categories of testicular Sertoli cell markers - including immature Sertoli cell markers, mature Sertoli cell markers, immature/mature Sertoli cell markers, Sertoli cell functional markers, and others.
Expert opinion: By delineating the characteristics and applications of more than 20 Sertoli cell markers, this review provided novel Sertoli cell markers for the more accurate diagnosis and mechanistic evaluation of male reproductive disorders.
Keywords: Sertoli cell; immature sertoli cell; mature sertoli cell; sertoli cell marker; spermatogenesis.