Morphogenesis of the bovine rete testis: the intratesticular rete and its connection to the seminiferous tubules

2000 ◽  
Vol 202 (6) ◽  
pp. 475-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl-Heinz Wrobel
Keyword(s):  
Rete Testis ◽  
Seminiferous Tubules

Development of the seminiferous tubules and rete testis during prenatal human development

1978 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-235
Author(s):  
O. I. Brindak ◽  
V. A. Vlasov ◽  
V. A. Malishevskaya
Keyword(s):  
Human Development ◽  
Rete Testis ◽  
Seminiferous Tubules

Male germ cell transplantation: promise and problems

2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang-Xu Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Germ Cell ◽  
Cell Transplantation ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Direct Injection ◽  
Primordial Germ Cells ◽  
Rete Testis ◽  
Male Germ Cell ◽  
Seminiferous Tubules ◽  
Germ Cell Transplantation

Male germ cell transplantation is a novel technique in which donor male stem germ cells are surgically transferred to the seminiferous tubules of a recipient testis by direct injection or via the rete testis or efferent duct. All germ cells that are destined to become stem spermatogonia are defined as male stem germ cells, including primordial germ cells from the gonadal ridges, and gonocytes and stem spermatogonia from the testis, all of which are transplantable and capable of undergoing normal spermatogenesis. Xenotransplantation of male germ cells from one species into the testis of another species, including human testicular cells in the mouse, has so far proved to be unsuccessful. However, the immunodeficient mouse testis can support rat spermatogenesis and produce apparently normal rat spermatozoa. The underlying mechanisms remain elusive. The present mini-review will focus on the importance of stem spermatogonial transplantation for testicular stem cell biology and discuss the likelihood of immune rejection after transplantation, which may limit the success of all male germ cell transplantation.

scholarly journals Histological Study of Rete Testis and Ductuli efferentes of Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 145-147
Author(s):  
Rakhmiyati Rakhmiyati ◽  
Muhammad Jafar Luthfi
Keyword(s):  
Histological Study ◽  
Rete Testis ◽  
Seminiferous Tubules ◽  
Sperm Cells ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Thin Walls ◽  
Complex Part ◽  
Ductuli Efferentes ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
Testis Tissue

The testes produce sperm cells through the spermatogenesis process that occurs in the complex system ducts starting form seminiferous tubules to vas deferens. Testis has a very complex part to support sperm cell production. Sperm cells that have been formed through the process of spermatogenesis will move towards the lumen in the seminiferous tubules. Then the sperm cells will pass through the rete testis tissue, then to ductuli efferentes to arrive at the epididymis for the process of maturing sperm. Anatomical studies on seminiferous tubular tissue and epididymal organs have often been carried out, but there is still very little observation data on rete testis and ductuli efferentes in rabbits. The method used in this study was the paraffin method with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The observations showed that the structure of the testicular rete channels had thin walls compared to the seminifous tubule channels. Ductuli efferens is a channel between of rete testis and epididymis.

Focal Orchitis in Undescended Testes

2002 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-69
Author(s):  
Manuel Nistal ◽  
María Luisa Riestra ◽  
Ricardo Paniagua
Keyword(s):  
Germ Cell ◽  
Sertoli Cell ◽  
Sertoli Cells ◽  
Seminiferous Tubule ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Rete Testis ◽  
Seminiferous Tubules ◽  
Inflammatory Infiltrates ◽  
Lymphoid Infiltrates

Abstract Objective.—To evaluate seminiferous epithelium lesions in adult cryptorchid testes showing lymphoid infiltrates in seminiferous tubules and interstitium (ie, focal orchitis). Also, to consider the possible role of this lesion in the etiology of tubular atrophy. Methods.—We performed a histopathologic study of the cryptorchid testes and adjacent epididymides removed from 50 adult men who had not been previously treated for cryptorchidism. The study included morphologic and semiquantitative evaluation of seminiferous tubule pathology (according to germ cell numbers), Sertoli cell morphology, tubular lumen dilation, rete testis pattern (normal, hypoplastic, or cystic), and epididymal pattern (normal or epididymal duct hypoplasia). The study also included immunohistochemical evaluation of immune cell markers. The results were compared with clinical and laboratory findings. Results.—Focal lymphoid infiltrates (mainly lymphocytes) in seminiferous tubules and interstitium were found in 22 patients (44%), all of whom had unilateral cryptorchidism. The course of orchitis was asymptomatic, and laboratory data were normal. According to the seminiferous tubule pathology, a variety of histopathologic diagnoses, were made: (1) mixed atrophy consisting of Sertoli cell–only tubules intermingled with tubules showing maturation arrest of spermatogonia (11 testes, 4 of which also showed hyalinized tubules); (2) Sertoli cell–only tubules plus hyalinized tubules (4 testes); (3) Sertoli cell–only tubules (3 testes); (4) intratubular germ cell neoplasia (2 testes, 1 of which also showed hyalinized tubules); (5) complete tubular hyalinization (1 testis); and (6) tubular hyalinization plus some groups of tubules with hypospermatogenesis (all germ cell types were present although in lower numbers, 1 testis). Dysgenetic Sertoli cells, that is, Sertoli cells that had undergone anomalous, incomplete maturation, were observed in all nonhyalinized seminiferous tubules with inflammatory infiltrates. Tubular ectasia was observed in 13 cases. The rete testis was hypoplastic and showed cystic transformation in 18 testes, and the epididymis was hypoplastic in 15 testes. Conclusions.—The causes of these focal inflammatory infiltrates are unknown. It is possible that tubular ectasia and Sertoli cell dysgenesis are involved and that these alterations cause a disruption of the blood-testis barrier and allow antigens to enter the testicular interstitium, giving rise to an autoimmune process.

scholarly journals Three-dimensional analysis of seminiferous tubules and spermatogenic waves in mice

Reproduction ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 154 (5) ◽  
pp. 569-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroki Nakata ◽  
Takahiro Sonomura ◽  
Shoichi Iseki
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Average Length ◽  
Periodic Acid ◽  
3D Structure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Rete Testis ◽  
Seminiferous Tubules ◽  
Periodic Acid Schiff ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Branching Points

The aim of the present study was to reconstruct seminiferous tubules and analyze spermatogenic waves in seminiferous epithelia in developing and adult mice using serial paraffin sections and high-performance three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction software. By labeling the basement membrane of seminiferous tubules with fluorescent immunohistochemistry or periodic acid-Schiff-hematoxylin staining, all seminiferous tubules were reconstructed in 9 testes from 9 different mice, 3 each at 0, 21 and 90 days (adult) postpartum. The 3D structure of seminiferous tubules, including the number and length of tubules as well as the number of connections with the rete testis, branching points and blind ends, was assessed accurately. Although tubules showed marked variations among individual mice, their overall structure was regular and retained from newborn to adult mice. Some seminiferous tubules contained inner portions running distant from the testis surface. In a representative testis at 21 days, the sites at which spermatids initially occurred were examined by labeling acrosomes and were found to be preferentially distributed in the upper and medial portions of the testis close to the rete testis. In a representative adult testis, 76 complete waves with an average length of 16.9 mm were found and their directions were analyzed. The methods used in the present study will be useful for investigating the structure and function of seminiferous tubules in mice and humans under normal and pathological conditions, such as infertility.

Androgens in male rat reproductive tract fluids: hypophysectomy and steroid replacement

1985 ◽  
Vol 248 (3) ◽  
pp. E274-E280 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. T. Turner ◽  
L. L. Ewing ◽  
C. E. Jones ◽  
S. S. Howards ◽  
B. Zegeye
Keyword(s):  
Light Microscopy ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Rete Testis ◽  
Male Rat ◽  
Seminiferous Tubules ◽  
Male Reproductive Tract ◽  
Rat Testis ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Adult Rat

The control of androgen concentrations in the intraluminal fluids of the male reproductive tract is not well understood. The present experiments were performed to determine the effects of hypophysectomy, hypophysectomy plus testosterone (T), and hypophysectomy plus pregnenolone treatment on intraluminal androgen concentrations in the adult rat testis and epididymis. T and 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) concentrations were determined in the vascular, interstitial, and intraluminal compartments of the epididymis. Testicular and epididymal morphology also were examined under light microscopy. Hypophysectomy of at least 5 days duration significantly reduced T and DHT concentrations in serum, tissues, and intraluminal fluids of the reproductive tract. T replacement for 14 days, which produced peripheral T concentrations of 5 ng/ml, did not support intraluminal androgen concentrations in the seminiferous tubules equivalent to controls; rete testis androgen concentrations were similar to controls, however. Pregnenolone administration at 2 mg X rat-1 X day-1 for 14 days did not maintain spermatogenesis nor intraluminal T concentrations in the seminiferous tubules equivalent to controls; however, a low level of spermatogenesis continued when intraluminal and tissue androgen concentrations were maintained at 10-20% of controls by either the testosterone and pregnenolone treatments.

The male genital system and reproductive cycle of Elephantulus myurus jamesoni (Chubb)

1954 ◽  
Vol 238 (653) ◽  
pp. 99-126 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Abdominal Cavity ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Interstitial Cells ◽  
Rete Testis ◽  
Ventral Prostate ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Seminiferous Tubules ◽  
Steady Increase ◽  
Sexual Glands

A study was made of the structure of the testis, epididymis, vas deferens and accessory sexual glands in a number of males of Elephantulus myurus jamesoni (Chubb), killed at different periods of the year. The testes are retained in the abdominal cavity and contain very little connective tissue and interstitial cells; a mediastinum testis is absent and the rete testis is reduced and confined to a small area in the capsule. The corpus epididymidis is abnormally elongated. The cauda epididymidis is a large body consisting of a wide and greatly coiled tube, folded on itself and located between the rectum and the urethra in a gutter formed by the dorsal prostate glands. The testes in adults are fully active throughout the year, and no seasonal variation in the size of the testes, or change in the diameter of the seminiferous tubules, is found. The accessory sexual organs were identified as consisting of five pairs of prostate glands situated around the proximal part of the urethra, a pair of Cowper’s glands and a bilobed uterus masculinus. The prostate glands differ in epithelial structure, the amount of stroma and in the type of secretion produced. The accessory sexual organs are in full activity from July to January. During the latter half of January and in February regression in size and in height of the epithelium takes place. The ventral prostate glands become inactive before the other four pairs of prostate glands. After a period of quiescence, the accessory sexual glands prepare for the next breeding season. There is a definite cycle in the size of the interstitial cells. From June there is a steady increase to August and October when the cells reach their maximum size and are in the fully active secretory condition. They gradually decrease in size to reach their minimum size in April. This inactive condition persists to June when a steady growth for the next breeding season begins; the most rapid growth takes place at the end of July.

scholarly journals Low retinoic acid levels mediate regionalization of the Sertoli valve in the terminal segment of mouse seminiferous tubules

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kasane Imura-Kishi ◽  
Aya Uchida ◽  
Naoki Tsunekawa ◽  
Hitomi Suzuki ◽  
Hinako M. Takase ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retinoic Acid ◽  
Sertoli Cells ◽  
Terminal Segment ◽  
Rete Testis ◽  
Seminiferous Tubules ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Akt Phosphorylation ◽  
Cell Ablation ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Replacement Experiment

AbstractIn mammalian testes, undifferentiated spermatogonia (Aundiff) undergo differentiation in response to retinoic acid (RA), while their progenitor states are partially maintained by fibroblast growth factors (FGFs). Sertoli valve (SV) is a region located at the terminal end of seminiferous tubule (ST) adjacent to the rete testis (RT), where the high density of Aundiff is constitutively maintained with the absence of active spermatogenesis. However, the molecular and cellular characteristics of SV epithelia still remain unclear. In this study, we first identified the region-specific AKT phosphorylation in the SV Sertoli cells and demonstrated non-cell autonomous specialization of Sertoli cells in the SV region by performing a Sertoli cell ablation/replacement experiment. The expression of Fgf9 was detected in the RT epithelia, while the exogenous administration of FGF9 caused ectopic AKT phosphorylation in the Sertoli cells of convoluted ST. Furthermore, we revealed the SV region-specific expression of Cyp26a1, which encodes an RA-degrading enzyme, and demonstrated that the increased RA levels in the SV region disrupt its pool of Aundiff by inducing their differentiation. Taken together, RT-derived FGFs and low levels of RA signaling contribute to the non-cell-autonomous regionalization of the SV epithelia and its local maintenance of Aundiff in the SV region.

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