Hormonal influences on formation of plasminogen activator by cultured testis tubule segments at defined stages of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium.

We confirm that basal rates of formation of plasminogen activator by cells in cultured tubule segments at stages of the cycle associated with spermiation (stages VII and VIII) are higher than those by cells in tubule segments at any other stages of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium. We demonstrate that addition of cAMP derivatives or follicle-stimulating hormone in the presence of a phosphodiesterase inhibitor results in a large stimulation of plasminogen activator formation by tubule segments at all stages of the cycle. The greatest percentage increase (approximately 100-fold) is observed in cells in tubule segments having lowest basal rates of plasminogen activator formation (stages IX-VI). Even under stimulated conditions, however, the amounts of plasminogen activator produced by cultured tubule segments at stages VII and VIII remain greater than those produced by cultured tubule segments at other stages of the cycle, and these differences persist during organ culture for 48 h. Insulin and testosterone do not alter rates of formation of plasminogen activator. We conclude that Sertoli cells, the primary source of formation of plasminogen activator in the testis, are metabolically heterogeneous in the seminiferous tubule and that the germ cell association patterns in various stages of the cycle modulate Sertoli cell functions. We discuss the data in relation to the tissue restructuring within the seminiferous tubule which occurs during spermatogenesis and the possible role of plasminogen activator in these processes.