Table of Content

Open Access iconOpen Access

ARTICLE

Actin levels fluctuate in the seminiferous epithelium at various stages during spermatogenesis in the rat

CRISTIAN ACOSTA, MABEL FÓSCOLO, JUAN CARLOS CAVICCHIA*

Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza (IHEM)-CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, 5500, Mendoza, Argentina

* Address correspondence to: Juan Carlos Cavicchia, email

BIOCELL 2017, 41(2-3), 63-66. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2017.41.063

Abstract

The testis is a double gland comprised of the sperm-producing seminiferous tubules and a complex endocrine interstice. The former structures generate and release whole cells (exocrine aspect of the gland) while the latter synthesize and release androgens and related hormones. The testis also has poorly understood paracrine connexions. These connexions play an important role during spermatogenesis. A key molecule within these structures is β-actin. Therefore, the present study aims at examining the expression pattern of β-actin during the various stages of the spermatic cycle in the rat. To achieve this goal, we used a combination of trans-illumination assisted microdissection of seminiferous tubules, confocal immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis. Our experiments revealed that the levels of β-actin fluctuate significantly during spermatogenesis, peaking immediately after spermiation.

Keywords


Cite This Article

ACOSTA, C., FÓSCOLO, M., CAVICCHIA, J. C. (2017). Actin levels fluctuate in the seminiferous epithelium at various stages during spermatogenesis in the rat. BIOCELL, 41(2-3), 63–66.



cc This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
  • 1327

    View

  • 1031

    Download

  • 0

    Like

Share Link