Distribution of Sertoli cell microtubules, microtubule-dependent motors, and the Golgi apparatus before and after tight junction formation in developing rat testis.
Sertoli cells are polarized epithelial cells of the seminiferous epithelium which provide structural and physiological support for differentiating germ cells. They establish different basal and adluminal environments for the selective nurturing of pre- and post-meiotic germ cells within the seminiferous epithelium, segregated by the Sertoli-Sertoli cell tight junctional complex, the blood-testis barrier. Tight junction formation between epithelial cells in vitro is a critical polarizing event associated with changes in polarized targeting of membrane-specific proteins and reorganization of microtubules, centrioles, and the Golgi apparatus. To investigate whether tight junction formation is associated with organelle reorganization in Sertoli cells in vivo, we have characterized distribution patterns of Sertoli cell microtubules, the mechanoenzymes kinesin and cytoplasmic dynein, and the Golgi apparatus during tight junction formation in developing rat testis. Immunocytochemistry on samples taken at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 days of age was used to examine the distribution of these proteins during the extensive cellular reorganization that culminates in the formation of the blood-testis barrier at 19 days of age. Our data show that the distribution patterns reflect the extensive intercellular repositioning of tubule cells in developing seminiferous tubules, but that changes in intracellular organization are not temporally associated with formation of the blood-testis barrier.
Redenbach
D M
DM
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.
Hall
E S
ES
Boekelheide
K
K
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D016764:Cell Polarity; D004285:Dogs; D006056:Golgi Apparatus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D016547:Kinesins / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008870:Microtubules / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012708:Sertoli Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D019108:Tight Junctions / Q000502:physiology*
D016547:Kinesins