Premium
A Study on the Existence and Localization of the Testis‐Determining Substance in Early Fetal Rat by Organ Culture
Author(s) -
Koresawa Mitsuhiko,
Jimbo Toshiharu,
Mizuno Masahiko,
Sakamoto Shoichi
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
asia‐oceania journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1447-0756
pISSN - 0389-2328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1447-0756.1980.tb00509.x
Subject(s) - fetus , organ culture , gestation , primordium , biology , andrology , seminiferous tubule , in vitro , anatomy , medicine , pregnancy , endocrinology , spermatogenesis , sertoli cell , biochemistry , genetics , gene
The combined organ culture was performed in vitro using rats of the Wister strain. During the experiment combinations of the following organs were used: the fetal ovarian primordium at the 14th day of gestation and fetal testes at the 14th, 16th, and 19th day of gestation and the 2nd day after birth, or the fetal liver at the 14th day of gestation. Cultivation was carried out on a glass fiber filter (METRICEL mebrane filter) placed on a mesh in a small culture vessel (Falcon No. 3037), using 0.5 ml of synthetic medium 199 containing 25% of fetal calf serum at 37°C with 5% CO 2 in air. Histological sections of 5 μ were made 2 or 3 days after cultivation and stained with hematoxyline‐eosin. It was observed that the differentiation of the fetal testis and ovarian primordium took place in vitro during cultivation. The former exhibited the seminiferous tubule‐like structures. In the case of the ovarian primordium, its differentiation was influenced to the various extents depending on the tissues with which it was combined. In combination with the fetal testis up to day 16 of gestation, it showed a testis‐like development in close relation with the distance to the border of the testis, but neither the testis after day 19 of gestation nor the fetal liver exerted any influence on ovarian differentiation, indicating that the testis‐determining substance(s) exists specifically in the early fetal testis and is secreted therefrom.