Characterization by enriched polyclonal antibodies of developmentally regulated and cell type specific mouse testis...

Polyclonal antisera directed against testicular proteins were characterized by immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis. Antibodies binding to testis-specific, developmentally regulated protein bands were eluted from their antigens and used for further characterization of the developmental profile and cell type-specific expression of two antigens, PSM33 and NNA75. While PSM33 was found to be present in spermatocytes from the late pachytene stage on, NNA75 could be localized in neonatal interstitial cells. NNA75 expression ceases by to postnatal day ten, when first meiosis starts within the seminiferous tubules, thus suggesting an interactive role of Leydig cells during the onset of meiotic divisions.