Differentiation of the rat seminiferous tubules between 13 and 19 days of age |
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Authors: | L. Hagenä s,L. Plö en,H. Ekwall,D. I. Osman,E. M. Ritzé n |
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Affiliation: | Department of Anatomy and Histology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala;Pediatric Endocrinology Unit, Department of Paediatrics, Karolinska Sjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden |
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Abstract: | The differentiation of rat seminiferous tubules have been studied in 13 to 19 days old rats. Testicular weight and tubular cross-sectional area were more than doubled during this period. The percentage of tubules with more than 10 primary spermatocytes increased from 4% to 90%, and the lanthanum excluding ability of the inter-Sertoli cell junctions (the blood-testis barrier) showed a similar increase but two days later. ABP production in vitro increased more than twentyfold from day 13 to day 19 of age. It is concluded that the differentiation of Sertoli cell function and the appearance of primary spermatocytes are temporally correlated which supports the assumption that the function of the Sertoli cells is important for initiation and maintainance of spermatogenesis. |
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Keywords: | development seminiferous tubules blood-testis barrier testis rat puberty ABP |
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