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Post‐natal development of the rat testis: steroid hormone receptor distribution and extracellular matrix deposition
Author(s) -
Weber M. A.,
Groos S.,
Aumüller G.,
Konrad L.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
andrologia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.633
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1439-0272
pISSN - 0303-4569
DOI - 10.1046/j.1439-0272.2002.00465.x
Subject(s) - fibronectin , sertoli cell , paracrine signalling , extracellular matrix , laminin , biology , medicine , endocrinology , androgen receptor , receptor , immunohistochemistry , spermatogenesis , microbiology and biotechnology , testosterone (patch) , leydig cell , andrology , hormone , immunology , luteinizing hormone , prostate cancer , cancer
Summary. The control of testicular development and differentiation depends on hormones and a variety of cell–cell interactions mediated mainly by paracrine factors. In the second and third weeks of post‐natal development important changes take place in the rat testis, e.g. the tubular lumen starts to open on post‐natal day 10, the blood–testis barrier starts to form on day 15, and Sertoli cell proliferation ceases on day 15. In the present study the expression in different testicular compartments of the androgen receptor (AR), progesterone receptor (PR), and extracellular matrix proteins such as laminin, entactin‐1 (nidogen‐1) and fibronectin, during post‐natal development was examined using immunohistochemistry and semiquantitative image analysis. An intratubular AR peak on days 14–17, an increase in intratubular PR expression on days 14–16, and an increase in peritubular entactin‐1 expression during the second and third weeks post‐partum are demonstrated. These results suggest that a variety of changes occur at the cellular level during this period when certain milestones of testicular development occur, substantiating the hypothesis of a particular role for paracrine interactions during the development of the rat testis.