Proliferative activity of gonocytes, Sertoli cells and interstitial cells during testicular development in mice

Developing mouse testis was studied from Day 14 post coitum (p.c.) until Day 35 post partum (p.p.) by [3H]thymidine autoradiography. The gonocytes proliferated actively at Day 14 p.c., the [3H]thymidine labelling index (L.I.) being 7.5%, and were quiescent from Day 16 p.c. up to the first day of life, when spermatogenesis started. The L.I. increased to 20% at Day 2 p.p. The L.I. for the Sertoli cells was approximately 20% before birth. After birth the proliferative activity decreased. After Day 11 p.p., the Sertoli cells showed their typical adult appearance. After Day 17 p.p. no labelled Sertoli cells were observed. The Leydig cells featured a very low proliferative activity up to Day 21 p.p. (L.I. of maximal 1.9%). At Day 29 p.p. there was a peak of 7.4% in L.I., followed by a sharp decrease to 0.35% at Day 35 p.p. The L.I. of mesenchymal cells decreased from 11.4% at Day 14 p.c. to 1.1% at Day 14 p.p. and remained more or less constant thereafter. The proliferative activity of myoid, endothelial and perivascular cells followed a similar course to that of mesenchymal cells, their L.I.s being high before birth (16, 12.5 and 19%, respectively, decreasing until Day 14 p.p. (0.6, 2.0 and 1.2%, respectively) and thereafter being more or less constant. There was an increase in the relative number of Leydig cells from approximately 4% of the total interstitial cell number at Day 14 p.p. to 29.5% at Day 35 p.p. At the same time, the relative number of mesenchymal cells decreased from 55 to 13%. The diameter of the seminiferous tubules showed a peak of 92 microns at Day 16 p.c., decreased to 44 microns at Day 1 p.p. and increased again to 204 microns at Day 33 p.p. These results show that, except for the Leydig cells, the proliferative activity of testicular cell types is highest during the pre- and early postnatal period. The major outgrowth of the Leydig cell population occurs around the fourth week after birth. The results are in accordance with the hypothesis that the mesenchymal cells are the progenitors of Leydig cells.