We previously reported the successful induction of complete spermatogenesis of mice in neonatal testis tissues cultured on agarose gel, with the culture medium supplemented with a bovine serum albumin product, AlbuMAX. This method, however, has not been examined for fetal testis tissues. In this report, we tested the culture method for fetal testes of the Acrosin (Acr)-Gfp transgenic mouse, whose testicular germ cells express GFP from the midmeiotic phase onward, using AlbuMAX-containing medium. The fetal testis, from 19.5 days postcoitum (dpc) back to 14.5 dpc, showed spermatogenic progression and produced haploid cells in culture. On the other hand, testes of 13.5 dpc or earlier did not show the meiotic sign of Acr-Gfp expression. Regardless of the fetal age, tissue masses enlarged during the culture period because of the elongation and thickening of the seminiferous tubules. This simple culture method could be a useful experimental system to investigate fetal testicular development and germ cell biology.
How to translate text using browser tools
14 July 2016
Spermatogenesis in Explanted Fetal Mouse Testis Tissues
Kazuaki Kojima,
Takuya Sato,
Yuta Naruse,
Takehiko Ogawa
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
Biology of Reproduction
Vol. 95 • No. 3
September 2016
Vol. 95 • No. 3
September 2016
Organ culture
spermatogenesis
testis development