Abstract
The chromatin condensation behaviour of the human X chromosome has been studied by fluorescencein situ hybridization (FISH) analysis in germ cells and Sertoli cells of the adult testis, and comparisons are made with previous findings for the human Y chromosome and for chromosome 7. In meiotic prophase, the X chromosome can be seen to extend greatly at zygotene and to contract through pachytene into the sex vesicle. Such extension, which has also been noted for the human Y chromosome at this stage of meiosis, could be a prerequisite for XY pairing and crossing-over. Byin situ hybridization analysis, the sex chromosomes of patients with ‘Sertoli-cell-only’ syndrome appear extremely contracted compared with the normally extended state of those in adult Sertoli cells of fertile men. By contrast, the state of expansion for chromosome 7 in Sertoli cells appears identical for sterile and fertile testes. This could suggest an association between gene-controlled germ cell losses and failure of expansion of the sex chromosome axes. The variable patterns of extension and contraction for the X and Y chromosome axes in germ cells and Sertoli cells might provide underlying clues to patterns of expression noted for sex-linked genes in the human testis.
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Kofman-Alfaro, S., Speed, R.M., Boyle, S. et al. Condensation behaviour of the human X chromosome in male germ cells and Sertoli cells examined by fluorescencein situ hybridization. Chromosome Res 2, 439–444 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01552866
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01552866