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Updated: May 15, 2026
Germ Cell Transplantation and Testis Tissue Xenografting in Mice
Published on: February 6, 2012
Does early cell death cause germ cell loss after intratesticular tissue grafting?
Dorien Van Saen1, Ellen Goossens, Joeri L Aerts
1Biology of the Testis Research Group, Department of Embryology and Genetics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium. dorien.van.saen@vub.ac.be
Objective:
To assess cell death in intratesticular grafts.
Design:
Experimental animal study.
Setting:
University.
Animal(S):
F1-hybrids from SV129 X C57BL.
Intervention(S):
Intratesticular tissue transplantation was performed and cell death in the grafts was evaluated at different time points after transplantation.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Apoptotic cell death in spermatogonia was evaluated by flow cytometry with the use of the annexin V assay. Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate graft development and the global occurrence of cell death.
Result(S):
The highest level of spermatogonia-specific cell death was found on days 4 and 10, although no statistical difference was observed compared with control tissue. Statistically significant reductions in tubule integrity were observed 1 day and 2 months after transplantation. More degenerated tubules were observed in the center of the grafts 1 and 4 days after transplantation, and higher numbers of apoptotic tubules were found 1 day after transplantation. No difference in overall cell death was observed between grafts and controls for any time point except for the frozen grafts 1 day after transplantation.
Conclusion(S):
Spermatogonia-specific apoptosis does not explain the stem cell loss observed after intratesticular tissue grafting; it probably results from degeneration of tubules in the center of the graft owing to hypoxia during the first days after transplantation.
