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The Reproductive System and Its Disorders
Published in Walter F. Stanaszek, Mary J. Stanaszek, Robert J. Holt, Steven Strauss, Understanding Medical Terms, 2020
Walter F. Stanaszek, Mary J. Stanaszek, Robert J. Holt, Steven Strauss
Numerous other structures and cells exist within the testicles; for example, Sertoli cells may nourish developing sperm cells, and Leydig cells (interstitial cells) produce the male hormone androgen. Yet much of the medical terminology related to testicular function, disease, and treatment is derived from a few basic sources. The Greek word for testis is orchis, and the prefixes orchi-, orchio-, and orchido- refer to testes in such terms as orchidotomy (incision into the testis, usually for biopsy), orchidectomy (removal of the testis), orchitis (inflammation of the testis), orchidalgia (pain in the testicle), and cryptorchidism (failure of the testicle to descend into the scrotum; also called cryptorchism).
The urinary tract and male reproductive system
Published in C. Simon Herrington, Muir's Textbook of Pathology, 2020
Luis Beltran, Daniel M. Berney
The testis develops embryologically from the genital ridge adjacent to the mesonephros. Germ cells migrate to the genital ridge and are surrounded by proliferating mesothelium to form ‘sex cords’, which will form the seminiferous tubules with Sertoli cells and germ cells. Sertoli cells are essential ‘nurse’ cells for spermatogenesis. Surrounding mesodermal stroma forms the Leydig cells. During intrauterine development the testes descend into the scrotum, apparently guided by an anchoring structure composed of undifferentiated mesenchyme, the gubernaculum.
Summation of Basic Endocrine Data
Published in George H. Gass, Harold M. Kaplan, Handbook of Endocrinology, 2020
The Sertoli cells of the testes are important. In the fetus, they control the development and descent of the testes, the germ cells, and the cells that secrete hormones responsible for masculinization. In adulthood they nourish the early germ cells as they mature into sperm. Also in the fetus, a hormone named mullerian inhibiting substance is produced by Sertoli cells and is claimed to cause the regression in the male of the fetal structures called the mullerian ducts at about eight weeks. These ducts in the female differentiate into the fallopian tubes.
Identification and validation of Sertoli cell homing peptides as molecular steering for testis targeted drug delivery
Published in Journal of Drug Targeting, 2023
Yugandhara Jirwankar, Vikas Dighe
Targeting testicular cells and tissue is important to overcome the hurdle the Blood-Testis Barrier (BTB) provides in developing and delivering drugs to treat testicular anomalies. Almost every testicular pathology or contraceptive drug is cell-specific or targets cell-specific molecules, but there is no testicular cells targeting ligand available to date. Somatic cells like Sertoli and Leydig cells, and also the germ cells can be targeted for treating or delivering drugs for specific testicular pathologies [28]. Sertoli cells form the blood-testis barrier, and the process of spermatogenesis occurs in the compartment protected by this barrier; hence, Sertoli cells provide the potential target for the development and delivery of male contraceptive drugs [29]. Antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase targeting to Sertoli cells can help to address the problem of intratesticular oxidative stress [28, 30]. Ligands selectively targeting Sertoli cells may open new avenues for treating various testicular disorders. In this study, we have attempted to identify Sertoli cell homing peptides for testicular targeting using a phage display peptide library. The Sertoli cell homing peptides (SCHPs) may provide better opportunities in the future for the targeted delivery of drugs and male contraceptives to the testis.
Transcriptional regulation of PEBP1 expression by androgen receptor in mouse testes
Published in Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine, 2022
Qiong Deng, Zhu Wang, Ye Du, Ying Zhang, Hui Liang
Androgen and its receptor (AR) are essential for maintaining spermatogenesis and male fertility (Heinlein and Chang 2002; Heemers and Tindall 2007; Patrao et al. 2009). Spermatogenesis occurs in the seminiferous tubules of the testes and is supported by the somatic Sertoli cells that surround and nurture developing germ cells (Smith and Walker 2014). Testosterone produced by Leydig cells is the major androgen in the testes. AR belongs to the nuclear steroid hormone receptors family, which mediates the actions of steroid hormones, including embryonic development, metabolism, apoptosis and the maintenance of differentiated cellular phenotypes (Marino and Ascenzi 2006). Male AR knockout (ARKO) mice exhibited a female-typical appearance, and germ cell development is absolutely disrupted (Yeh et al. 2002). These data suggest that the action of androgens in Sertoli cells plays a key role in the regulation of spermatogenesis.
Protein markers of spermatogenesis and their potential use in the management of azoospermia
Published in Expert Review of Proteomics, 2021
Sophia Costa Araujo, Ricardo Pimenta Bertolla
NOA can be classified in three subtypes based on histopathological examination of testicular tissue: hypospermatogenesis, maturation arrest, and Sertoli cell-only syndrome [5–7,9–12]. The hypospermatogenesis subtype is characterized by a histological finding where all germ cell types are identified, albeit in reduced density, leading to the reduction in the thickness of the germinal epithelium [7,13]. NOA by maturation arrest is defined as complete and uniform interruption of spermatogenesis in all seminiferous tubules. In these two subtypes, sperm may still exist, though in insufficient numbers or not fully matured [7]. The subtype of Sertoli cell-only syndrome, or germinal aplasia, is characterized by presenting seminiferous tubules covered only by Sertoli cells, without any germ cells [7]. Regardless of the subtype, they all lead to failure during spermatogenesis, making NOA the most critical cause of male infertility [4,6,14].