Unveiling the roles of Sertoli cells lineage differentiation in reproductive development and disorders: a review

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2024 Apr 18:15:1357594. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1357594. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

In mammals, gonadal somatic cell lineage differentiation determines the development of the bipotential gonad into either the ovary or testis. Sertoli cells, the only somatic cells in the spermatogenic tubules, support spermatogenesis during gonadal development. During embryonic Sertoli cell lineage differentiation, relevant genes, including WT1, GATA4, SRY, SOX9, AMH, PTGDS, SF1, and DMRT1, are expressed at specific times and in specific locations to ensure the correct differentiation of the embryo toward the male phenotype. The dysregulated development of Sertoli cells leads to gonadal malformations and male fertility disorders. Nevertheless, the molecular pathways underlying the embryonic origin of Sertoli cells remain elusive. By reviewing recent advances in research on embryonic Sertoli cell genesis and its key regulators, this review provides novel insights into sex determination in male mammals as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying the genealogical differentiation of Sertoli cells in the male reproductive ridge.

Keywords: Sertoli cell; embryonic cell development; mice; primordial germ cell; sex determination; spermatogenesis.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation*
  • Cell Lineage*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Reproduction / physiology
  • Sertoli Cells* / cytology
  • Sertoli Cells* / metabolism
  • Sertoli Cells* / physiology
  • Sex Determination Processes / physiology
  • Spermatogenesis / physiology

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Research Start-up Fund of Jining Medical University (600791001, 600980001), the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFA0107700), and the Research Fund for Lin He’s Academician Workstation of New Medicine and Clinical Translation at Jining Medical University (JYHL2021MS32).