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Originally published in Science Express on 6 September 2007 Science 21 September 2007: Vol. 317. no. 5845, pp. 1722 - 1726
DOI: 10.1126/science.1144885
A Vasculature-Associated Niche for Undifferentiated Spermatogonia in the Mouse Testis
Shosei Yoshida,*Mamiko Sukeno,Yo-ichi Nabeshima
Mammalian spermatogenesis produces numerous sperm for a longperiod based on a highly potent stem cell system, which relieson a special microenvironment, or niche, that has not yet beenidentified. In this study, using time-lapse imaging of greenfluorescent protein–labeled undifferentiated spermatogonia(Aundiff) and three-dimensional reconstitution, we revealeda biased localization of Aundiff to the vascular network andaccompanying Leydig and other interstitial cells, in intacttestes. Differentiating spermatogonia left these niche regionsand dispersed throughout the basal compartment of the seminiferousepithelium. Moreover, rearrangement of Aundiff accompanied thevasculature alteration. We propose that the mammalian germlineniche is established as a consequence of vasculature patternformation. This is different from what is observed in Drosophilaor Caenorhabditis elegans, which display developmentally specifiedniche structures within polarized gonads.
Department of Pathology and Tumor Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: shosei{at}lmls.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp
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