title: Research resource: the dynamic transcriptional profile of sertoli cells during the progression of spermatogenesis.
abstract: Sertoli cells (SCs), the only somatic cells within seminiferous tubules, associate intimately with developing germ cells. They not only provide physical and nutritional support but also secrete factors essential to the complex developmental processes of germ cell proliferation and differentiation. The SC transcriptome must therefore adapt rapidly during the different stages of spermatogenesis. We report comprehensive genome-wide expression profiles of pure populations of SCs isolated at 5 distinct stages of the first wave of mouse spermatogenesis, using RNA sequencing technology. We were able to reconstruct about 13 901 high-confidence, nonredundant coding and noncoding transcripts, characterized by complex alternative splicing patterns with more than 45% comprising novel isoforms of known genes. Interestingly, roughly one-fifth (2939) of these genes exhibited a dynamic expression profile reflecting the evolving role of SCs during the progression of spermatogenesis, with stage-specific expression of genes involved in biological processes such as cell cycle regulation, metabolism and energy production, retinoic acid synthesis, and blood-testis barrier biogenesis. Finally, regulatory network analysis identified the transcription factors endothelial PAS domain-containing protein 1 (EPAS1/Hif2α), aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT/Hif1β), and signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) as potential master regulators driving the SC transcriptional program. Our results highlight the plastic transcriptional landscape of SCs during the progression of spermatogenesis and provide valuable resources to better understand SC function and spermatogenesis and its related disorders, such as male infertility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetic Medicine and Development (C.Z., I.S., C.B., B.C., J.-L.P., P.C., S.N.), University of Geneva Medical School, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland; Center for Integrative Genomics (H.K.), University of Lausanne, Génopode, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; and Inserm U1085-IRSET (B.J., F.C.), Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, F-35042 Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stévant
authors.forename: Christelle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Borel
authors.forename: Béatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Conne
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pitetti
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Calvel
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaessmann
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jégou
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chalmel
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nef
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D012671:Seminiferous Tubules / Q000378:metabolism*; D012708:Sertoli Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D059467:Transcriptome