Studies on H-Y antigen in different cell fractions of the testis during pubescence

✍ Scribed by Maria Teresa Zenzes; U. Müller; Ilse Aschmoneit; U. Wolf

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1978
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 423 KB
• Volume: 45
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0340-6717
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00278727

✦ Synopsis

Various cell types of the rat testis during pubescence, including germ, Sertoli, and Leydig cells, were partially enriched. The fractions were tested for the presence, binding, and secretion of H-Y antigen. The main results are: Immature germ cells are H-Y antigen-negative until the late diploid stages, and late primary spermatocytes or spermatids become positive; the somatic cells of the gonad are positive at all ages examined (18 days old to adulthood). Secretion of H-Y antigen is restricted to the Sertoli cell fraction. Binding of externally supplied antigen takes place on Leydig cells; the Sertoli cell surface will be saturated because of active secretion; there is no binding to germ cells. Thus, immature germ cells seem to be the only H-Y antigen-negative cells of the male organism, and the Sertoli cells seem to be the only ones to secrete H-Y antigen.