Abstract
Male and female gonads from 7- to 9-day-old chick embryos were cultured for 6 days in Sertoli cell-conditioned medium or in serum-free medium to investigate the possible effect of substances secreted by rat Sertoli cells on chick gonad development. Histological analysis showed that whereas all female gonads proceed through normal ovarian development in both culture media, most of male gonads showed clear feminization only when cultured in Sertoli cell-conditioned medium; male gonads cultured in serum-free medium developed as normal testes. Because the only substance detected in our conditioned medium with the potential to cause these effects was sex-specific antigen (Sxs), our results provide further evidence that Sxs antigen may play a role in sexual differentiation in birds, and probably in mammals.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akram H, Weniger JP (1968) Feminisation, en culture in vitro, du testicule embryonnaire de poulet par le testicule embryonnaire de veau. Arch Anat Microsc 57:369–378
Behringer RR, Cate RL, Froelick GJ, Palmiter RD, Brinster RL (1990) Abnormal sexual development in transgenic mice chronically expressing Müllerian inhibiting substance. Nature 345:167–170
Burgos M, Jiménez R, Díaz de la Guardia R (1986) A rapid, simple and reliable combined method for G-Banding mammalian and human chromosomes. Stain Technol 61:257–260
Di Clemente N, Ghaffari S, Pepinsky RB, Pieau C, Josso N, Cate RL, Vigier B (1992) A quantitative and interspecific test for biological activity of anti-Müllerian hormone: the fetal ovary aromatase assay. Development 114:721–727
Dorozzi M, Mignot TM, Guichard A, Desvages G, Pieau C (1991) Involvement of oestrogens in sexual differentiation of gonads as a function of temperature in turtles. Differentiation 47:9–17
Ebensperger C, Drews U, Mayerová A, Wolf U (1988a) Serological H-Y antigen in the female chicken occurs during gonadal differentiation. Differentiation 37:186–191
Ebensperger C, Drews U, Wolf U (1988b) An in vitro model of gonad differentiation in the chicken. Estradiol-induced sex-inversion results in the occurrence of serological H-Y antigen. Differentiation 37:192–197
Elbrecht A, Smith RG (1992) Aromatase enzyme activity and sex determination in chickens. Science 255:467–470
Erickson GF (1974) Spontaneous sex reversal in organ culture of the embryonic male gonads of the bird. J Embryol Exp Morphol 31:611–620
Goldberg EH, Boyse EA, Bennett D, Scheid M, Carswell EA (1971) Serological demonstration of H-Y (male) antigen on mouse sperm. Nature 232:478–480
Gubbay J, Collignon J, Koopman P, Chapel B, Economou A, Münsterberg A, Vivian N, Goodfellow P, Lovell-Badge R (1990) A gene mapping to the sex-determining region of the mouse Y chromosome is a member of a novel family of embryonically expressed genes. Nature 346:245–250
Hutson J, Ikawa H, Donahoe PK (1981) The ontogeny of mullerian inhibiting substance in the gonads of the chicken. J Pediatr Surg 16:822–827
Koopman P, Gubbay J, Vivian N, Goodfellow P, Lovell-Badge R (1991) Male development of chromosomally female mice transgenic for Sry. Nature 351:117–121
MacLaughlin DT, Hutson JM, Donahoe PK (1983) Specific estradiol binding in embryonic Müllerian ducts: a potential modulator of regression in the male and female chick. Endocrinology 113:141–145
Magre S, Jost A (1984) Dissociation between testicular organogenesis and endocrine cytodifferentiation of Sertoli cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 81:7831–7834
Mather JP, Sato G (1979) The growth of mouse melanoma cells in serum-free hormone supplemented medium. Exp Cell Res 120:191–193
McLaren A (1990) Of MIS and the mouse. Nature 345:111
McLaren A, Simpson E, Tomonary K, Chandler P, Hogg H (1984) Male sexual differentiation in mice lacking H-Y antigen. Nature 312:552–555
Müller U, Aschmoneit I, Zenzes MT, Wolf U (1978) Binding studies of H-Y antigen in rat tissues. Indications for a gonadspecific receptor. Hum Genet 43:151–157
Müller U, Zenzes MT, Wolf U, Engel W, Weniger JP (1979) Appearance of H-W (H-Y) antigen in the gonads of oestradiol sex-reversed male chicken embryos. Nature 280:142–144
Nagai Y, Ciccarese S, Ohno S (1979) The identification of human H-Y antigen and testicular transformation induced by its interaction with the receptor site of bovine fetal ovarian cells. Differentiation 13:155–164
Sinclair AH, Berta P, Palmer MS, Hawkins JR, Griffiths BL, Smith MJ, Foster JW, Frischauf AM, Lovell-Badge R, Goodfellow PN (1990) A gene from the human sex-determining region encodes a protein with homology to a conserved DNA-binding motif. Nature 346:240–244
Tiersch TR, Mitchell MJ, Wachtel SS (1991) Studies on the phylogenetic conservation of the Sry gene. Hum Genet 87:571–573
Vigier B, Watrin F, Magre S, Tran D, Josso N (1987) Purified bovine AMH induces a characteristic freemartin effect in fetal rat prospective ovaries exposed to it in vitro. Development 100:43–55
Wachtel SS (1981) Conservatism of the H-Y/H-W receptor. Hum Genet 58:54–58
Wachtel SS, Ohno S, Koo GC, Boyse EA (1975) Possible role for H-Y antigen in the primary determination of sex. Nature 257:235–236
Wachtel SS, Bresler PA, Koide SS (1980) Does H-Y antigen induce the heterogametic ovary? Cell 20:859–864
Weniger JP (1958) Action féminisante de la gonade droite de l'embryon de poulet femelle en culture in vitro. CR Acad Sci III 246:1094–1096
Weniger JP (1961) Féminisation, en culture in vitro, du testicule d'embryon de poulet par le testicule embryonnaire de souris. CR Acad Sci III 253:2410–2411
Weniger JP (1963) Féminisation, en culture in vitro, de l'ébauche gonadique de poulet mâle par le testicule d'embryon de souris. Arch Anat Microsc 52:261–276
Wiberg UH (1987) Facts and considerations about sex-specific antigens. Hum Genet 76:207–219
Woods JE, Simpson RM, Moore PL (1975) Plasma testosterone levels in the chick embryo. Gen Comp Endocrinol 27:543–547
Zenzes MT, Urban E, Wolf U (1980) Mammalian cross-reactive H-Y antigen induces sex reversal in vitro in the avian testis. Differentiation 17:121–126
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sánchez, A., Jiménez, R., Burgos, M. et al. A substance secreted by rat Sertoli cells induces feminization of embryonic chick testes in vitro. Anat Embryol 189, 531–537 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00186826
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00186826