Hatier R, Grignon G
Anat Embryol (Berl). 1980;160(1):11-27. doi: 10.1007/BF00315646.
Sertoli cells have various functions: mechanical (creation of two compartments in the seminiferous tubules, migration of germinal cells), secretory (secretion of anti-Müllerian hormone, inhibin, androgen-binding-protein and estrogen) and phagocytic. We report an ultrastructural study of the rat Sertoli cell during maturation and consider possible correlations between the acquisition of certain morphological characteristics and certain functions. During fetal life, the Sertoli cell possesses differentiated zones of junction with the gonocytes and seems to have a role in the migration of the gonocytes towards the periphery of the seminiferous tubule. The Sertoli cell performs the phagocytosis of the gonocytes which degenerate during their migration, and seems to be the site of production of protein granules, whose presence can be related to the synthesis of anti-Müllerian hormone. After birth and before puberty, when the inclusions resembling secretory granules disappear, the Sertoli cell membranes in contact with spermatocytes II and spermatids differentiate, forming, through the differentiated junctional complexes, two compartments (adluminal and luminal) in the seminiferous tubules. Finally, they acquire the characteristics of active secretory cells, capable, in particular, of steroid synthesis.
机械功能（在生精小管中形成两个腔室，生殖细胞迁移）、分泌功能（分泌抗苗勒管激素、抑制素、雄激素结合蛋白和雌激素）以及吞噬功能。我们报告了大鼠支持细胞成熟过程中的超微结构研究，并考虑了某些形态特征的获得与某些功能之间可能存在的相关性。在胎儿期，支持细胞与生殖母细胞有分化的连接区域，似乎在生殖母细胞向生精小管周边的迁移中起作用。支持细胞对迁移过程中退化的生殖母细胞进行吞噬，并且似乎是蛋白质颗粒产生的部位，其存在可能与抗苗勒管激素的合成有关。出生后至青春期前，当类似分泌颗粒的内含物消失时，与次级精母细胞和精子细胞接触的支持细胞膜发生分化，通过分化的连接复合体在生精小管中形成两个腔室（管腔和近腔）。最后，它们获得了活跃分泌细胞的特征，尤其能够进行类固醇合成。
