Differentiation markers of Sertoli cells and germ cells in fetal and early postnatal human testis |
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Authors: | Franke Folker E Pauls Katharina Rey Rodolfo Marks Alexander Bergmann Martin Steger Klaus |
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Affiliation: | (1) Institute of Pathology, University of Giessen, Germany;(2) Institute of Pathology, University of Bonn, Germany;(3) Centro de Investigaciones Endocrinológicas (CONICET), Hospital de Ninos R Gutiérrez and Department of Histology, Embryology and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina;(4) Banting and Best Institute of Medical Research, University of Toronto, Canada;(5) Institute of Veterinary Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, University of Giessen, Germany;(6) Klinik für Urologie und Kinderurologie, Rudolf-Buchheim-Strasse 7, 35385 Giessen, Germany;(7) Department of Urology and Pediatric Urology, University of Giessen, Germany |
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Abstract: | The definition of the temporal sequence of appearance of fetal markers during prenatal and early postnatal development in Sertoli and germ cells may be important for understanding the mechanisms underlying their reexpression in disorders of the adult testis. For this reason, we studied the expression of Sertoli and germ cell markers in 25 human testes spanning a period from 8 gestational weeks to 4 years. Well-characterized antibodies were employed to anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), cytokeratin 18 (CK18), vimentin (VIM), M2A-antigen (M2A), germ cell alkaline phosphatase (GCAP), and somatic angiotensin-converting enzyme (sACE) on formalin-fixed and microwave-pretreated paraffin sections. In Sertoli cells, AMH and VIM were consistently present. While VIM and CK18 were coexpressed in embryonic testes, CK18 was progressively downregulated and completely absent from the 20th gestational week. M2A was absent or moderately expressed in fetal Sertoli cells but increased during further development. In germ cells, M2A was consistently found in primordial germ cells (PGCs) as well as in M- and T1-prespermatogonia. In contrast, sACE and GCAP were absent from PGCs but were a distinct feature of late M- and early T1-prespermatogonia and appeared predominantly between the 18th and the 22nd gestational weeks. Both T2-prespermatogonia and postnatal prespermatogonia were devoid of any marker. While CK18 represents a differentiation marker for fetal Sertoli cells, M2A, GCAP, and sACE can be used as differentiation markers for the discrimination of different germ cell types during human prespermatogenesis. Because various immunophenotypes reflect distinct differentiation stages, this knowledge may be important for understanding adult testicular pathology. |
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Keywords: | Anti-Mü llerian hormone Cytokeratin 18 Vimentin Germ cells Sertoli cells |
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