A six-year-old male Pekinese dog was referred to the Veterinary Medical Center, Chungbuk National University because of intermittent vomiting, anorexia, alopecia, and pruritus. Generalized alopecia, pigmentation, and papular erythema in the skin were observed on physical examination. Hematological studies indicated a severe pancytopenia and hypoalbuminemia. A hormone analysis indicated a hyperestrogenemia. A circumscribed mass, measuring approximately 3-4 cm in diameter, was observed on abdominal radiographs. Grossly, the cryptorchid testis was enlarged by a firm and white spherical mass, measuring approximately 3 cm in diameter, which, on its cut surface, was creamy white with hemorrhage. The normal scrotal testis was markedly atrophic and soft. Histologically, the intra-abdominal cryptorchid testis contained abundant fibrous tissue stroma and the stromal tissues were arranged in a tubular pattern in which the neoplastic cells tended to palisade. The cells had poor and pale eosinophilic cytoplasm streaming into the center of the tubules. The nuclei were round to oval and tended to be in a basilar location. Regions of hyperplasia and marked squamous metaplasia were observed in many areas of the prostate. Based on the histological findings, we were able to identify these masses as Sertoli cell tumors, and made a final diagnosis as Sertoli cell tumors through immunohistochemistry methods using inhibin-α, vimentin, and neuron-specific enolase.

The purpose of the present study was to establish culture conditions for the in vitro study of the neonatal piglet Sertoli cell. Isolation for the culture of Sertoli cell was established using collagenase and pancreatin digestion of testicular tissues. The effects of various culture media, fetal bovine serum (FBS), follicular stimulating hormone (FSH), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and insulin-transferrin-sodium selenite (ITS) on growth of neonatal piglet Sertoli cells were investigated. The mitogenic effects of Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium + Ham’s F-12 medium was higher than other media used in this experiment. The addition of 1% FBS in cultures was necessary for attachment of Sertoli cell clusters. However, except FBS and EGF, FSH and ITS did not stimulate Sertoli cell proliferation. When Sertoli cells isolated from neonatal piglets were cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium + Ham’s F-12 medium supplemented with 1% FBS, FSH, EGF and ITS, the yield and plating efficiency of Sertoli cells were largely increased. Confluency of Sertoli cells was reached as early as 4 days of culture. The method described here reduces or eliminates many of the drawbacks of the conventional procedures used to isolate and culture of Sertoli cells, thus providing a useful tool in studies of growth kinetics and regulation of cell proliferation in vitro.

The ultrastructures of germ cells and the functions of Leydig cells and Sertoli cells during spermatogenesis in male Kareius bicoloratus (Pleuronectidae) were investigated by electron microscope observation. Each of the well-developed Leydig cells during active maturation division and before spermiation contained an ovoid vesicular nucleus, a number of smooth endoplasmic reticula, well-developed tubular or vesicular mitochondrial cristae, and several lipid droplets in the cytoplasm. It is assumed that Leydig cells are typical steroidogenic cells showing cytological characteristics associated with male steroidogenesis. No cyclic structural changes in the Leydig cells were observed through the year. However, although no clear evidence of steroidogenesis or of any transfer of nutrients from the Sertoli cells to spermatogenic cells was observed, cyclic structural changes in the Sertoli cells were observed over the year. During the period of undischarged germ cell degeneration after spermiation, the Sertoli cells evidenced a lysosomal system associated with phagocytic function in the seminiferous lobules. In this study, the Sertoli cells function in phagocytosis and the resorption of products originating from degenerating spermatids and spermatozoa after spermiation. The spermatozoon lacks an acrosome, as have been shown in all teleost fish spermatozoa. The flagellum or sperm tail of this species evidences the typical 9+2 array of microtubules.

Mammalian spermatogenesis takes place in the seminiferousepithelium, which is composed of Sertoli cells and germ cells. The interaction between spermatogenic and Sertoli cells as well as elongated spermatids and Sertoli cells is tightly regulated by junctional adhesion molecules (JAMs). JAMs, which are cell adhesion molecules, are known to play roles in various biological processes such as fertilization, neurogenesis, cancer progression, and spermatogenesis. Members of the JAM family have a unique structure: they contain an N-terminal signal peptide domain, immunoglobulin (Ig)-like domains, transmembrane and cytoplasmic tail domains, each of which has distinct functions. The extracellular Ig-like domains interact in a homophilic or heterophilic manner, whereas cytoplasmic tail domain mediates the tight junction assembly. Although members of the JAM family are exclusively present in or restricted to the testis, their precise roles in spermatogenesis and fertilization have not yet been completely explored. The functional roles of Nectin-2, Nectin-3, JAM-C, cell adhesion molecule1 (CADM1), coxsackie and adenovirus receptor (CAR) have been evaluated by analysis of null mutant mice. Unfortunately, CAR-deficient mice had an embryonic lethal phenotype; this demonstrates the importance of CAR in development, but its physiological role in spermatogenesis is not known. The loss of CADM1, Nectin-3 and JAM-C resulted in male infertility caused by loss of adhesion between germ and Sertoli cells. A variety of JAMs participate in the interaction between germ and Sertoli cells. Recently, human VSIG1 has been characterized, which was originally known as A34, as a new member of the JAM family; VSIG1 is composed of two extracellular Ig-like domains, a transmembrane domain, and a cytoplasmic domain. However, this molecule has not been functionally characterized, so this was one of the aims of our present study. RT-PCR and immunoblot analyses were used to study VSIG1 expression, VSIG1 was specifically expressed in testicular germ cells but not in sperm. Pull-down assay with glutathione S-transferase (GST) or His-fused first Ig and second Ig domains of VSIG1 and SDS-PAGE under mild non-reducing conditions demonstrated that VSIG1 functions as an in vitro homophilic adhesion molecule. Furthermore, cells expressing a deletion of the C-terminus of VSIG1 failed to interact with ZO-1, the central structural protein of the tight junction. These findings suggest mouse VSIG1 interacts with an unknown molecule in Sertoli cells via its extracellular domain, while its cytoplasmic domain is needed for binding to ZO-1. Thus, we suggest mouse VSIG1 may play an important role in spermatogenesis rather than fertilization by forming heterophilic complex with a molecule similar to JAM family.

본 연구는 Leydig 세포주와 Sertoli 세포주상에 bisphenol A(BPA)와 diethylstilbestrol(DES)의 영향을 알아보고자 수행하였다. 세포 종류에 따른 BPA의 영향을 알아보기 위해, BPA의 농도별로 두 세포주에 처리하여 세포생존율을 비교하였다. Sertoli 세포주가 Leydig 세포주에 비해서 저농도의 BPA에서 생존율이 유의하게 감소되는 것을 확인할 수 있어, Sertoli 세포가 Leydig 세포주에 비해 BPA에