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Hormonal and Cellular Control of Seminiferous Tubular Function

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Contraception Research for Today and the Nineties

Part of the book series: Progress in Vaccinology ((VACCINOLOGY,volume 1))

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Abstract

The seminiferous tubule is composed of three cell types: germ cells, myoid cells, and Sertoli cells. Of these, Sertoli cells comprise the epithelium of the tubule in which spermatogenesis occurs. These cells rest on a basal lamina, which, in turn, is surrounded by a layer of myoid cells. Sertoli cells are attached to one another by specialized junctional complexes near the basal portion of each cell. This arrangement is diagramed in Figure 24.1. The Sertoli ceil junctional complexes limit the transport of fluid and molecules between the interstitial space of the testis and the seminiferous tubular lumen. The functional significance of this anatomic arrangement was first suggested by studies in which dyes, administered intravenously, failed to enter the tubular lumen. These and similar observations suggested that there is a blood-testis barrier similar to the barrier that exists between the vascular space and the brain.

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Authors
  1. C. Wayne Bardin
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Immunology, JNU Complex, Shahid Jeet Singh Marg, 110 067, New Delhi, India

    G. P. Talwar

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© 1988 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

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Bardin, C.W. (1988). Hormonal and Cellular Control of Seminiferous Tubular Function. In: Talwar, G.P. (eds) Contraception Research for Today and the Nineties. Progress in Vaccinology, vol 1. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3746-4_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3746-4_24

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8331-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-3746-4

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