Upregulation of macrophage migration inhibitory factor and calgizzarin by androgen in TM4 mouse Sertoli cells
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Updated: Aug 8, 2026
Isolation of Sertoli Cells and Peritubular Cells from Rat Testes
Published on: February 8, 2016
Hiroyuki Kasumi1, Shinji Komori, Kazuko Sakata
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1 mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya 663-8501, Japan.
Aim:
To identify proteins induced by androgen in Sertoli cells during spermatogenesis.
Methods:
We analyzed protein profiles in TM4 Sertoli cells treated with dihydrotestosterone (DHT) using surface enhanced laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS).
Results:
We found increases in the expression of a 5.0-kDa protein at 15 min, an 11.3-kDa protein at 24 h and 4.3 kDa, 5.7 kDa, 5.8 kDa, 9.95 kDa and 9.98 kDa proteins at 48 h after the treatment. In contrast, the expression of 6.3 kDa and 8.6 kDa proteins decreased at 30 min, and 4.9 kDa, 5.0 kDa, 12.4 kDa and 19.8 kDa proteins at 48 h after the treatment. The 11.3-kDa protein was identified as macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) known to having various functions. The 9.98-kDa protein was identified as calgizzarin related to calcium channels. The timing of their expression suggests that MIF and calgizzarin are involved in late regulation of spermatogenesis in Sertoli cells by androgen.
Conclusion:
MIF and calgizzarin are two important androgen-responsive proteins produced by Sertoli cells and they might play a role in regulating spermatogenesis.