Cells Sertoli

1b Sertoli Cells. Sertoli cells are the somatic cellular component of the seminiferous epithelium. These are highly specialized cells that employ tight intercellular cytoskeletal adhesions, known as ectoplasmic specializations, to form a syncytium around the lumen of the tubule. This blood-lumen barrier divides the 

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This seems plausible, as the time at which gonocytes become invasive coincides with periods during postnatal life and puberty when Sertoli cells are producing high amounts of hormones. The malignant gonocytes overexpress c-kit so it is possible that they might proliferate in response to stimulation by stem cell factor secreted by the Sertoli cells. ... 

J. H. Dorrington and S. A. Khan, in The Sertoli Cell, ed. L. Russell and M. Griswold, Cache River... 

In some animals, consumption of a phytoestrogen-rich diet can cause temporary infertility and reproductive system disorders (Irvine, 1999). In humans, lower testosterone levels and a decline in human semen quality over the past century have been luiked to increased exposure to environmental endocrine disrupters (EDCs) (Sharpe and Skakkebaek, 1993). Furthermore, cases of sexual impotence have been reported in males exposed to synthetic estrogens in the pharmaceutical industry (Mattison et al., 1990). If this might be the case, the fetal-prepubertal period and Sertoli cell development would be of critical importance (Sharpe and Skakkebaek, 1993). However, an adverse effect of phytoestrogens on male fertility has yet to be proven. Recent work (Mitchell et al., 2001) addressing this point led to the conclusion that up to 40 mg/day of isoflavones over a two-month period had no effects on gonadotrophin and... 

Chapin RE, Phelps JL, Burka LT, et al. 1991. The effects of tri-ozt/zo-cresyl phosphate and metabolites on rat Sertoli cell function in primary culture. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 108 194-208. 

Marziali, G., Lazzaro, D., and Sorrentino, V. (1993). Binding of germ cells to mutant Sld Sertoli cells is defective and is rescued by expression of the transmembrane form of c-kit ligand. Dev. Biol. 157 182-190. 

Rossi, P., Dolci, S., Albanesi, C., Grimaldi, P., Ricca, R., and Geremia, R. (1993). Follicle-stimulating hormone induction of Steel factor (SLF) mRNA in mouse sertoli cells and stimulation of DNA synthesis in spermatogonia by soluble SLF. Dev. Biol. 155 68-74. 

Tajima, Y Onoue, H Kitamura, Y., and Nishimune, Y. (1991). Biologically active kit ligand growth factor is produced by mouse Sertoli cells and is defective in Sid mutant mice. Development 113 1031-1035. 

Sarny, E. T., et al. (2000). Sertoli cell prostaglandin D2 synthetase is a multifunctional molecule its expression and regulation. Endocrinology 141, 710-21. 

The major FSH target in the male is the Sertoli cells, found in the walls of the seminiferous tubules of the testis. They function to anchor and nourish the spermatids, which subsequently are transformed into spermatozoa during the process of spermatogenesis. Sertoli cells also produce inhibin (discussed later), which functions as a negative feedback regulator of FSH. The major physiological effect of FSH in the male is thus sperm cell production. 

Swinne, J., Tsikalas, K. E. and Contim, M. Properties and hormonal regulation of two structurally related cAMP phosphodiesterases from the rat Sertoli cell. /. Biol. Chem. 266 18370-18377,1991. 

FSH acts on testicular Sertoli cells to promote maturation of LH receptors and produce an androgen-binding protein. 

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