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Updated: Jun 7, 2025
09:59
Transillumination-Assisted Dissection of Specific Stages of the Mouse Seminiferous Epithelial Cycle for Downstream Immunostaining Analyses
Published on: October 7, 2020
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Spatial Transcriptomics Reveals the Temporal Architecture of the Seminiferous Epithelial Cycle and Precise
Arun Chakravorty1,2, Benjamin D Simons3, Shosei Yoshida4
1California Institute of Technology, Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Pasadena, CA 91106.
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|November 18, 2024
Summary
Spermatogenesis involves a cyclical pattern of germ cell development. This study reveals Sertoli cells maintain their own cyclical gene expression, coordinating with germ cells even when germ cells are absent.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Genomics
Background:
- Spermatogenesis follows a cyclical pattern in seminiferous tubules.
- Transcriptional changes and cell lineage coordination during this cycle are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To map transcriptional dynamics across the spermatogenesis cycle.
- To investigate the coordination between germ and somatic cell lineages.
Main Methods:
- Spatial transcriptomics using RNA SeqFISH+ on mouse testis.
- Profiling 2,638 genes in over 216,000 cells.
- Analyzing gene expression patterns in relation to the seminiferous epithelial cycle.
Main Results:
- Identified a periodic transcriptional pattern mirroring the seminiferous epithelial cycle.
- Sertoli cells show cyclic gene expression synchronized with germ cells.
- Sertoli cells maintain cyclic dynamics even after germ cell ablation.
Conclusions:
- Sertoli cells possess an intrinsic cyclical transcriptional program.
- This program is coordinated with germ cell development and retinoic acid signaling.
- Spatial transcriptomics reveals a regulatory mechanism for spermatogenesis coordination.
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