Hormonal regulation of spermatid binding

Abstract

A Sertoli-spermatid coculture model is described in which a large percentage (greater than 76%) of round spermatids remain viable for 48 h and bind to Sertoli cells. The effects of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and testosterone on spermatid binding (expressed as the spermatid density; SD = the number of spermatids per unit area of Sertoli cell cytoplasm), ultrastructure of the Sertoli-spermatid junctional complex, and distribution in the Sertoli cell of junction-related F-actin and vinculin are described. Following 48 h of incubation, neither FSH alone nor testosterone alone affected spermatid binding to Sertoli cells beyond that observed in control cocultures. However, the combination of FSH and testosterone (FSH + testosterone) resulted in a significant increase in the density of spermatids bound to Sertoli cells. Junction-related structure of the Sertoli cell cytoskeleton between the Sertoli cell and the pre-step 8 spermatid was different than that observed between the Sertoli cell and the post-step 8 spermatid. The junction-related cytoskeletal modification of the Sertoli cell (JCMS) in the latter was similar in appearance to the well-described ‘Sertoli ectoplasmic specialization’ observed adjacent to post-step 8 spermatids in vivo. FSH + testosterone and FSH alone, but not testosterone alone, resulted in the peripheral distribution of actin and vinculin, which otherwise remained in stress fiber-like structures throughout the Sertoli cell. Results show that maximal spermatid binding to Sertoli cells in vitro requires FSH + testosterone and is associated with the peripheral distribution of actin and vinculin.