Col3a1 delivered via extracellular vesicles of Sertoli cells is essential for mice Sertoli cell proliferation

Yu Zhu; Yu Lin; Xiaoguo Zheng; Hanshu Wang; Zhenhua Li; Fei Sun

doi:10.1016/j.mce.2023.112036

Col3a1 delivered via extracellular vesicles of Sertoli cells is essential for mice Sertoli cell proliferation

Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2023 Nov 1:577:112036. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2023.112036. Epub 2023 Aug 1.

Authors

Yu Zhu¹, Yu Lin¹, Xiaoguo Zheng¹, Hanshu Wang¹, Zhenhua Li², Fei Sun³

Affiliations

¹ International Peace Maternity & Child Health Hospital, Shanghai Municipal Key Clinical Specialty, Institute of Embryo-Fetal Original Adult Disease, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China.
² Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 201204, China.
³ International Peace Maternity & Child Health Hospital, Shanghai Municipal Key Clinical Specialty, Institute of Embryo-Fetal Original Adult Disease, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China. Electronic address: sunfei@shsmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37532092
DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2023.112036

Abstract

It is generally believed that Sertoli cells can proliferate only before sexual maturity. In this study, we found that extracellular vesicles of Sertoli cells derived from prepubertal mice (SEVs) have the ability to promote the proliferation of Sertoli cell population. In addition, via proteomic analysis, we compared the functional components of extracellular vesicles derived from Sertoli cells of mice at 12-14 days and 8 weeks. The functional profiling of SEVs suggested important developmental roles, and this was confirmed by analysis comparing the transcriptomic changes in Sertoli cells treated with DMSO and GW4869. The following analysis pointed to Col3a1 as a key factor in SEVs, which was further validated using primary Sertoli cells and TM4 cell line. The present study suggests a possible role for Col3a1 in promoting the proliferation of cultured Sertoli cells and provides a new perspective on the function of extracellular vesicles in Sertoli cell development.

Keywords: Col3a1; Extracellular vesicles; Proliferation; Sertoli cells.