Endocrine regulation of spermatogonial stem cells in the seminiferous epithelium of adult mice

Abstract

A balance between self-renewal and differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) is required to maintain sperm production throughout male life. The seminiferous epithelium is organized into stages of spermatogenesis based on the complement of germ cell types within a tubular section of the testis. The stages exist in close physical proximity and foster diverse phases of germ cell development despite exposure to a similar endocrine milieu that supports coordinated spermatogenesis. The objective of the current study was to identify the population dynamics of SSCs in vivo. We hypothesized that SSC populations and their niches are specifically distributed across the mature seminiferous epithelium in the mouse testis. To test this hypothesis, we conducted stem cell transplantation of germ cells obtained from stage-specific clusters of seminiferous tubules representing areas of high responsiveness to follicle-stimulating hormone (IX-I), androgen (II-IV), and retinoid (V-VIII) signaling. Similarly, we analyzed the expression of genes linked with SSC activity in these groups of stages. No stage-specific differences in the colonization efficiency or the colony number were detected after SSC transplantation, indicating that SSCs are equally distributed across all stages of the seminiferous tubule. In contrast, SSCs obtained from donor stages IX-IV established larger donor-derived colonies due to increased colony expansion. SSCs originating from different stages have varying degrees of stem cell activity in vivo, a notion consistent with Gdnf, Ret, and Bcl6b expression data. These results support the conclusion of a stage-specific, microenvironment-regulating SSC self-renewal and suggest the presence of a transit-amplifying population of undifferentiated spermatogonia in vivo.