Retinoic acid signaling in Sertoli cells regulates organization of the blood-testis barrier through cyclical changes in gene expression

@article{Hasegawa2012RetinoicAS,
  title={Retinoic acid signaling in Sertoli cells regulates organization of the blood-testis barrier through cyclical changes in gene expression},
  author={Kazuteru Hasegawa and Yumiko Saga},
  journal={Development},
  year={2012},
  volume={139},
  pages={4347 - 4355}
}
Mammalian spermatogenesis contributes a constant production of large numbers of spermatozoa, which is achieved by a cyclically regulated program known as the seminiferous epithelial cycle. Sertoli cells, functionally unique somatic cells, create a microenvironment to support the continuous differentiation of germ cells especially through the formation of a blood-testis barrier (BTB). The BTB is essential for maintaining homeostasis in seminiferous tubules and opens transiently at stages VII… 
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Molecular Mechanisms and Signaling Pathways Involved in Sertoli Cell Proliferation
TLDR
The comprehension of how the final number of Sertoli cells in adulthood is established constitutes a pre-requisite to understand the underlying causes responsible for the progressive decrease in sperm production that has been observed during the last 50 years in humans.
Regulation of the blood-testis barrier.
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    Seminars in cell & developmental biology
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The mechanism and control of Jagged1 expression in Sertoli cells
Vitamin A Deprivation Affects the Progression of the Spermatogenic Wave and Initial Formation of the Blood-testis Barrier, Resulting in Irreversible Testicular Degeneration in Mice
TLDR
It is suggested that BTB integrity was regulated by VA metabolism with meiotic progression and that the impermeable BTB was required for persistent spermatogenesis rather than meiotic initiation.
Riding the Spermatogenic Wave: Profiling Gene Expression Within Neonatal Germ and Sertoli Cells During a Synchronized Initial Wave of Spermatogenesis in Mice1
TLDR
Novel candidate genes, Asf1b and Esyt3, that may be involved in the regulation of spermatogonial chromatin reorganization, germ-Sertoli cell interactions, and/or blood-testis barrier formation are provided.
Two distinct Sertoli cell states are regulated via germ cell crosstalk†
TLDR
Sertoli cells exist in one of two main states and require germ cell crosstalk for normal spermatogenic cycling in an unperturbed testis environment, and a germ cell-deficient environment does not allow normal Sertoli cell transcriptome cycling and results in a state unique from either of those seen in SERToli cells from a germcell-sufficient environment.
Loss of Cx43 in Murine Sertoli Cells Leads to Altered Prepubertal Sertoli Cell Maturation and Impairment of the Mitosis-Meiosis Switch
TLDR
Cx43 in SCs appears to be required for normal progression of the first wave of spermatogenesis, especially for the mitosis-meiosis switch, and also for the regulation of prepubertal SC maturation.
Hierarchical differentiation competence in response to retinoic acid ensures stem cell maintenance during mouse spermatogenesis
TLDR
It is demonstrated that retinoic acid (RA), which may periodically increase in concentration in the tubules during the seminiferous epithelial cycle, induced only NGN3+ cells to differentiate, and proposed a novel mechanism of stem cell fate selection in an open niche environment whereby undifferentiated cells show heterogeneous competence to differentiate in response to ubiquitously distributed differentiation-inducing signals.
Action and Interaction between Retinoic Acid Signaling and Blood–Testis Barrier Function in the Spermatogenesis Cycle
TLDR
How RA and the BTB regulate spermatogenesis and the interaction between RA signaling and BTB function is reviewed and discussed.
Retinoic acid promotes Sertoli cell differentiation and antagonises activin-induced proliferation
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