| HOME | HELP | CONTACT US | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
6ß1-integrin and phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase between Sertoli cells and elongated spermatids during spermatid release from the seminiferous epithelium
1 Prince Henry’s Institute of Medical Research, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia
2 Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Monash University, PO Box 5152, Level 4, Block E, 246 Clayton Road, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia
(Requests for offprints should be addressed to L O’Donnell; Email: liza.odonnell{at}princehenrys.org)
Spermiation is the final step of spermatogenesis and culminates in the disengagement (release) of elongated spermatids from Sertoli cells into the seminiferous tubule lumen. Spermiation failure, wherein spermatids are retained by Sertoli cells instead of releasing, occurs after hormone suppression. The mechanisms involved in spermatid disengagement and retention are not well understood. We previously showed that ß1-integrin is associated with spermatids until the point of disengagement, but the ectoplasmic specialisation junction (ES) is not. The aims of this paper are to further characterise the complex that is present immediately prior to spermatid disengagement by identifying the 
-integrin form dimerised with ß1-integrin, localising focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and determining if microtubules are involved. Adult Sprague–Dawley rats received testosterone and oestradiol implants and an FSH antibody for 7 days to suppress testicular testosterone and FSH and induce spermiation failure. Control rats were treated with saline. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that 6-integrin and a phosphorylated form of FAK (FAK-Tyr397) are present between late spermatids and Sertoli cells after ES removal, until the point of disengagement, and both proteins remain associated with retained spermatids after spermiation failure induced by hormone suppression. Using dual-label immunofluorescence, tubulins (and thus microtubules) were observed to co-localise with ES, but were neither associated with elongated spermatids just prior to release nor with retained spermatids following hormone suppression. These results suggest that microtubules are not involved in the final release of spermatids from Sertoli cells. We conclude that spermatid release during spermiation is mediated by a ‘disengagement complex’ containing 6ß1-integrin and phospho-FAK, the function of which can be affected by gonadotrophin suppression.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  L. O'Donnell, K. Pratis, A. Wagenfeld, U. Gottwald, J. Muller, G. Leder, R. I. McLachlan, and P. G. Stanton Transcriptional Profiling of the Hormone-Responsive Stages of Spermatogenesis Reveals Cell-, Stage-, and Hormone-Specific Events Endocrinology, November 1, 2009; 150(11): 5074 - 5084. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Sun, E. W P Wong, M. W M Li, W. M Lee, and C Y. Cheng 14-3-3 and its binding partners are regulators of protein-protein interactions during spermatogenesis J. Endocrinol., September 1, 2009; 202(3): 327 - 336. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 W.-Y. Lui and W. M Lee Molecular mechanisms by which hormones and cytokines regulate cell junction dynamics in the testis J. Mol. Endocrinol., August 1, 2009; 43(2): 43 - 51. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. R. Siu, E. W. P. Wong, D. D. Mruk, K. L. Sze, C. S. Porto, and C. Y. Cheng An Occludin-Focal Adhesion Kinase Protein Complex at the Blood-Testis Barrier: A Study Using the Cadmium Model Endocrinology, July 1, 2009; 150(7): 3336 - 3344. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. D'Souza, S. Pathak, R. Upadhyay, R. Gaonkar, S. D'Souza, S. Sonawane, M. Gill-Sharma, and N. H. Balasinor Disruption of Tubulobulbar Complex by High Intratesticular Estrogens Leading to Failed Spermiation Endocrinology, April 1, 2009; 150(4): 1861 - 1869. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | CONTACT US | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
