Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T21:18:12.398Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Apoptosis Process in Mouse Leydig Cells during Postnatal Development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2003

Maria José Salles Faria ,
Zilá Luz Paulino Simões ,
Laurelucia Orive Lunardi  and
Klaus Hartfelder
Maria José Salles Faria
Affiliation:
Department of General Biology, State University of Londrina, CX, Postal 6001, 86051-990 Londrina, PR, Brazil
Zilá Luz Paulino Simões
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine-USP, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
Laurelucia Orive Lunardi
Affiliation:
Department of Morfology, Estomatology and Fisiology, Faculty of Odontology-USP, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
Klaus Hartfelder
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine-USP, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
Get access

Abstract

The development of Leydig cells in mammals has been widely described as a biphasic pattern with two temporally mature Leydig cell populations, fetal stage followed by the adult generation beginning at puberty. In the present study, mouse Leydig cells were examined for apoptosis during postnatal testis development using electron microscopy and in situ DNA fragmentation by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase staining (TdT). Both the morphological study and the DNA fragmentation analysis showed that cellular death by apoptosis did not occur in Leydig cells during the neonatal, prepubertal, puberty, and adult periods. From these results, we suggest that the remaining fetal Leydig cells in the neonatal testis are associated with the involution or degeneration processes. In contrast, in the prepubertal and puberty stages, fragmentation of apoptotic DNA was detected in germ cells present in some seminiferous tubules.

Keywords

apoptosisLeydig cellmousedevelopmentin situ TdTelectron microscopy
Type
Biological Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , February 2003 , pp. 68 - 73
Copyright
© 2003 Microscopy Society of America

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)