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Developmental expression patterns of chemokines CXCL11, CXCL12 and their receptor CXCR7 in testes of common marmoset and human

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Abstract

The chemokine receptor CXCR7 interacts with the chemokines CXCL11 and CXCL12. During development, this ligand receptor system (C-X-C) provokes cell-type-specific responses in terms of migration, adhesion or ligand sequestration. It is active in zebrafish and rodents but no data are available for its presence or function in primate testes. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed in monkeys to detect CXCL11, CXCL12 and CXCR7. At the protein level, CXCL12 and CXCR7 were localized in the testes of the marmoset (Callitrix jacchus) whereas CXCR7 patterns were determined for various stages in human testes. Morphometry and flow cytometry were applied to quantify CXCR7-positive cells in monkeys. Transcript levels and protein expression of CXCR7 were detectable throughout testicular development. In both species, CXCR7 protein expression was restricted to premeiotic germ cells. In immature marmoset testes, 69.9 % ± 9 % of the total germ cell population were labelled for CXCR7, whereas in the adult, 4.7 % ± 2.7 % were positive for CXCR7. CXCL12 mRNA was detectable in all developmental stages in marmosets. The CXCL12 protein was exclusively localized to Sertoli cells. This pattern of CXCL12/CXCR7 indicates their involvement in regulatory processes that possibly orchestrate the interaction between undifferentiated germ cells and Sertoli cells.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Martin Heuermann and Günter Stelke (Centre of Reproductive Medicine and Andrology, Münster, Germany) for their excellent animal husbandry and Nicole Terwort, Reinhild Sandhowe, Jutta Salzig and Adelheid Kersebom for their tremendous technical assistance. Flow-cytometric analysis was performed at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine (MPI, Münster) with the help of Dr. Martin Stehling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre of Reproductive Medicine and Andrology, CeRA, Institute of Reproductive and Regenerative Biology, Albert-Schweizer-Campus 1, Building D11, 48149, Münster, Germany

    Birgit Westernströer, Daniel Langenstroth, Britta Troppmann, Klaus Redmann, Joachim Wistuba, Stefan Schlatt & Nina Neuhaus

  2. Department of Clinical Andrology, Centre of Reproductive Medicine and Andrology, CeRA, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, Building D11, 48149, Münster, Germany

    Sabine Kliesch

  3. The Queen’s Medical Research Institute, MRC/University of Edinburgh Centre for Reproductive Health, 47 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh, EH164TJ, Scotland, UK

    Joni Macdonald & Rod Mitchell

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  1. Birgit Westernströer
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  2. Daniel Langenstroth
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  3. Sabine Kliesch
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  9. Stefan Schlatt
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Correspondence to Stefan Schlatt.

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported.

This study was supported by grants from the Center of Interdisciplinary Clinical Research Muenster (IZKF; Schl2/001/13) and the Innovative Medical Research of the University of Münster Medical School (KO 111014) and by the DFG (project SCHL 394/11-2).

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Westernströer, B., Langenstroth, D., Kliesch, S. et al. Developmental expression patterns of chemokines CXCL11, CXCL12 and their receptor CXCR7 in testes of common marmoset and human. Cell Tissue Res 361, 885–898 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-015-2164-1

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