Relaxin affects cell organization and early and late stages of spermatogenesis in a coculture of rat testicular cells

Autor(es)

Pimenta, M. T. ^[1] ; Francisco, R. A. R. ^[1] ; Silva, R. P. ^[1] ; Porto, C. S. ^[1] ; Lazari, M. F. M. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Sect Expt Endocrinol, Dept Pharmacol, Escola Paulista Med, BR-04044020 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: ANDROLOGY; v. 3, n. 4, p. 772-786, JUL 2015.
• Citações Web of Science: 3

Resumo

Relaxin and its receptor RXFP1 are co-expressed in Sertoli cells, and relaxin can stimulate proliferation of Sertoli cells. In this study, we investigated a role of relaxin in spermatogenesis, using a short-term culture of testicular cells of the rat that allowed differentiation of spermatogonia to spermatids. Sertoli, germ, and peritubular myoid cells were the predominant cell types in the culture. Sertoli and germ cells expressed RXFP1. Cultures were incubated without (control) or with 0.5% fetal bovine serum (FBS) or 100ng/mL H2 relaxin (RLN) for 2days. Cell organization, number, and differentiation were analyzed after 2 (D2), 5 (D5) or 8 (D8) days of culturing. Although the proportion of germ cells decayed from D2 to D5, the relative contribution of HC, 1C, 2C, and 4C germ cell populations remained constant in the control group during the whole culture. RLN did not affect the proportion of germ cell populations compared with control, but increased gene and/or protein expression of the undifferentiated and differentiated spermatogonia markers PLZF and c-KIT, and of the post-meiotic marker Odf2 in D5. RLN favored organization of cells in tubule-like structures, the arrangement of myoid cells around the tubules, arrangement of c-KIT-positive spermatogonia at the basal region of the tubules, and expression of the cell junction protein -catenin close to the plasma membrane region. Knockdown of relaxin with small interfering RNA (siRNA) reduced expression of -catenin at the cell junctions, and shifted its expression to the nucleus. We propose that relaxin may affect spermatogenesis by modulating spermatogonial self renewal and favoring cell contact. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 10/10341-1 - Caracterização do papel da relaxina sobre a proliferação e diferenciação de células da linhagem germinativa em diferentes fases do desenvolvimento
• Beneficiário: Maristela Taliari Pimenta
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 10/10274-2 - Avaliação do papel da relaxina sobre passos iniciais e tardios da espermatogênese, em modelo de co-cultura de células germinativas e de Sertoli
• Beneficiário: Maria de Fátima Magalhães Lazari
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 13/07456-0 - Efeitos do silenciamento de relaxina em um modelo de co-cultura de células de Sertoli e germinativas
• Beneficiário: Raphael Paulo da Silva
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica