inter-Sertoli Cell Junctions Research Articles

The effect of HCG on pinocytosis iwthin the canine inter-sertoli cell tight junction. A preliminary report.

The role of tight junctions in permeability barriers is now well established. Other roles for this junction have been postulated but have not been demonstrated. In both adult and prepubertal dogs, stimulation with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) results in an increased number of pinocytotic vesicles on the membrane faces enclosed by tight junctions within the inter-Sertoli cell junctions of the testis. It is suggested that these membranous regions, protected from the normal flow of intercellular fluids, may act as regions of selective intercellular exchange.

Dependence of Sertoli cell maturation on the pituitary gland in the mouse

Postnatal development of the Sertoli cell population was studied in testes taken from newborn mice and implanted into the testes of normal hypophysectomized and testosterone-treated hypophyturation of the Seroti cell complement of each specimen was judged by two criteria: (1) the proportion of Sertoli cells exhibiting a nucleolonema; (2) the prevalence of specialized inter-Sertoli cell junctions. In these respects implants recovered from normal hosts did not differ from sibling controls of the same age. Sertoli cells in implants recovered from hypophysectomized hosts retained the features observed in newborn controls, indicating that maturation of the Sertoli cells is dependent on normal pituitary function. Implants recovered from testosterone-treated hypophysectomized hosts exhibited a degree of Sertoli cell development intermediate between those recovered from the other two host categories.