title: Magnetic activated cell sorting allows isolation of spermatogonia from adult primate testes and reveals distinct GFRa1-positive subpopulations in men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Isolation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) could enable in vitro approaches for exploration of spermatogonial physiology and therapeutic approaches for fertility preservation. SSC isolation from adult testes is difficult due to low cell numbers and lacking cell surface markers. Glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor family receptor alpha-1 (GFRalpha1) plays a crucial role for the maintenance of SSCs in rodents and is expressed in monkey spermatogonia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Magnetic activated cell sorting was employed for the enrichment of GFRalpha1+ spermatogonia from adult primate testes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Magnetic activated cell sorting of monkey cells enriched GFRalpha1+ cells threefold. 11.4% of GFRalpha1+ cells were recovered. 42.9% of GFRalpha1+ cells were recovered in sorted fractions of human testicular cells, representing a fivefold enrichment. Interestingly, a high degree of morphological heterogeneity among the GFRalpha1+ cells from human testes was observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Magnetic activated cell sorting using anti-GFRalpha1 antibodies provides an enrichment strategy for spermatogonia from monkey and human testes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gassei
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ehmcke
authors.forename: Rajiv
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dhir
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schlatt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods; D051097:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Receptors / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006651:Histocytochemistry / Q000662:veterinary; D006801:Humans; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000502:physiology*; D008280:Magnetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D013093:Spermatogonia / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D013737:Testis / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D051097:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Receptors