Leukemia inhibitory factor enhances formation of germ cell colonies in neonatal mouse testis culture

Spermatogonial stem cells continuously divide in the testis to support spermatogenesis throughout the life of adult male animals. Although very few spermatogonial stem cells are present in vivo, we recently succeeded in expanding these cells in vitro. Germ cells from postnatal testes were able to proliferate in the presence of several types of cytokines, and they formed uniquely shaped colonies of spermatogonia (germline stem or GS cells). These cells reinitiated normal spermatogenesis when transplanted into seminiferous tubules. However, much remains unknown about the contributions of cytokines to successful stem cell culture. In the present study, we examined the role of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) in GS cell culture. We found that the addition of LIF to newborn testis cell culture enhances the formation of germ cell colonies. Ciliary neurotrophic factor, but not oncostatin M, had the same effect, although they both bind to the IL-6ST (gp130) receptor. On the other hand, GS cells could be established from pup or adult testes in the absence of LIF. No phenotypic or functional difference was found between GS cells established from different stages, and normal offspring were born from pup-derived GS cells that had been maintained in the absence of LIF, indicating that LIF per se is not involved in the self-renewal of GS cells. These results demonstrate that LIF is useful in the initiation of GS cell culture and suggest that LIF or a related cytokine is involved in the maturation of gonocytes into spermatogonia.