Canadian Health&Care; Mall

These types of studies have not been addressed in the various Sertoli cells of a given seminiferous tubule at a given stage of the cycle. Nevertheless, the reason why Sertoli cells have evolved such complex mechanisms of protein regulation is unclear, but the data suggest that the testis has some capacity to maintain itself in part under adverse conditions. The question also arises as to what mechanism(s) possibly gives rise to the abnormalities found in the cytoplasm of Sertoli cells of FORKO mice. Considering the dilated nature of the cytoplasm, it is likely that these cells, as noted earlier, are accumulating fluid, which would account for the absence of ground substance and the transparent nature of the FORKO Sertoli cytoplasm. Among their many functions, Sertoli cells move water from the interstitial space to the lumen of the seminiferous tubule, where it serves as the vehicle for transporting sperm into the epididymis. This occurs along a standing osmotic gradient created by Na+K+/ATPase, which has been localized to the baso-lateral plasma membranes of Sertoli cells. In early studies, several investigators showed a correlation between increased tubular fluid production and FSH administration.