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Luminal testicular factors are essential for the luminalreaching property of basal cells in the mouse epididymis
Author(s) -
Kim Bongki,
Da Silva Nicolas,
Roy Jeremy,
Shum Winnie,
Breton Sylvie
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.734.11
Subject(s) - efferent ducts , epididymis , biology , basal (medicine) , androgen receptor , flutamide , ligation , endocrinology , medicine , in vivo , microbiology and biotechnology , andrology , sperm , prostate cancer , cancer , insulin
Basal cells (BCs) extend slender body projections that can cross the tight‐junction barrier to scan the luminal environment of the mouse proximal epididymis. We studied here the role of luminal testicular factors in the regulation of this luminal sensing property. Efferent duct ligation (EDL) was performed to block luminal flow from the testis without affecting blood flow. Keratin 5 (K5) labeling showed that the number of BCs with a luminal‐reaching projection was significantly reduced in a time dependent manner from 1 day to 5 days after EDL, compared to controls. Double labeling for caspase‐3 and K5 showed that a subset of BCs undergo apoptosis 1 day after EDL. Ki67/K5 double labeling showed an increase in the proliferation rate of the remaining BCs 2 days after EDL. In vivo treatment with the androgen receptor inhibitor, flutamide (50mg/kg/day) reduced the number of proliferating BCs in the intact tissue. We conclude that luminal testicular factors play an important role in BC luminal‐reaching ability, and are essential to maintain BC survival. Circulating androgens may play a role in the renewal of BCs following the initial insult induced by EDL. This study is funded by NIH grant DK085715.