Affiliation:
1. Department of Pathology and Tumor Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Abstract
Mammalian spermatogenesis produces numerous sperm for a long period based on a highly potent stem cell system, which relies on a special microenvironment, or niche, that has not yet been identified. In this study, using time-lapse imaging of green fluorescent protein–labeled undifferentiated spermatogonia (A
undiff
) and three-dimensional reconstitution, we revealed a biased localization of A
undiff
to the vascular network and accompanying Leydig and other interstitial cells, in intact testes. Differentiating spermatogonia left these niche regions and dispersed throughout the basal compartment of the seminiferous epithelium. Moreover, rearrangement of A
undiff
accompanied the vasculature alteration. We propose that the mammalian germline niche is established as a consequence of vasculature pattern formation. This is different from what is observed in
Drosophila
or
Caenorhabditis elegans
, which display developmentally specified niche structures within polarized gonads.
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Cited by
414 articles.
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