Histochemical and Ultrastructural Observations on Normal and Follicle Stimulating Hormone-Injected Prepuberal Rat Sertoli Cells

  • Don F. Cameron
  • Roger R. Markwald
Chapter
Part of the Current topics in Molecular Endocrinology book series (CTME, volume 2)

Abstract

Rat seminiferous tubules appear to be capable of limited steroid conversions. Christensen and Mason (1) and Hall, Irby and de Kretser (2) demonstrated the ability of isolated seminiferous tubules to convert labeled precursors to various C19-steroids. According to Bell, Vinson and Lacy (3), the seminiferous tubules have an equal or greater capacity than interstitial cells for converting progesterone to androgens. Of the intratubular cell types, both germinal cells (4) and Sertoli cells (5) have been hypothesized as participating in steroid anabolism. Of the gonadotropins, it appears that FSH stimulates the Sertoli cell (6,7) and that this cell is the primary target site of the hormone (8,9). By correlating ultrastructural observations of intratubular material with the results of histochemical demonstration of steroidogenic enzymes, this study offers evidence that during the period of prepuberal maturation the rat Sertoli cell (but not germinal cells) develops the potential to participate in steroid synthesis and that this potential is enhanced by FSH.

Keywords

Sertoli Cell Seminiferous Tubule Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum Germinal Cell Steroidogenic Enzyme 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Plenum Press, New York 1975

Authors and Affiliations

  • Don F. Cameron
    • 1
  • Roger R. Markwald
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of AnatomyMedical Univ. of South CarolinaCharlestonUSA

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