Kerr J B
Department of Anatomy, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
Anat Embryol (Berl). 1988;177(4):341-8. doi: 10.1007/BF00315842.
Testes from 8 adult rats were perfusion-fixed with buffered glutaraldehyde and semi-thin sections of the seminiferous epithelium at all stages of the spermatogenic cycle were subjected to morphometric analysis at the light microscope level. Methods are presented to derive the volume occupied by the Sertoli cells within the total volume of the seminiferous epithelium at each stage of the cycle for a single testis. The total number of Sertoli cells present in each stage for the whole testis was calculated from a measurement of Sertoli cell numerical density and the total volume of the seminiferous tubule in the testis at each stage of the cycle. Average volume of a single Sertoli cell for each stage was derived by dividing the first set of data by the latter data. Average Sertoli cell volume exhibited a cyclic variation in relation to the stages of the spermatogenic cycle. Sertoli cells were smallest during stages VI-VIII (5300-5500 micron3) increased to maximum volume during stages XII-XIV (7700-8000 micron3) and thereafter during stages I-V, gradually contracted in volume to complete the cycle. Stage-dependent cyclic variations in Sertoli cell volume offers evidence that the morphology of the Sertoli cell undergoes structural modifications to accommodate changes in the shape and volume of the developing germ cells. Furthermore these volume changes implicate the Sertoli cells in cyclic metabolic, absorptive and secretory functions which possibly direct the maturation of germ cells during the spermatogenic cycle.
取8只成年大鼠的睾丸，用缓冲戊二醛进行灌注固定，并对生精周期各阶段的生精上皮进行半薄切片，在光学显微镜下进行形态计量分析。本文介绍了计算单个睾丸生精上皮各阶段支持细胞在总体积中所占体积的方法。根据支持细胞的数量密度以及生精周期各阶段睾丸生精小管的总体积，计算出整个睾丸各阶段支持细胞的总数。将前一组数据除以后一组数据，得出各阶段单个支持细胞的平均体积。支持细胞的平均体积与生精周期各阶段呈周期性变化。支持细胞在Ⅵ-Ⅷ期最小（5300-5500立方微米），在Ⅻ-ⅩⅣ期增加到最大体积（7700-8000立方微米），此后在Ⅰ-Ⅴ期，体积逐渐缩小以完成一个周期。支持细胞体积的阶段依赖性周期性变化表明，支持细胞的形态发生了结构改变，以适应发育中生殖细胞形状和体积的变化。此外，这些体积变化表明支持细胞具有周期性的代谢、吸收和分泌功能，这可能在生精周期中指导生殖细胞的成熟。
