Vectorial production of interleukin 1 and interleukin 6 by rat Sertoli cells cultured in a dual culture compartment system.

The bidirectional production of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and IL-6 by Sertoli cells and its regulation by inflammatory and physiological stimuli has been studied using a dual compartment culture system allowing the study of Sertoli cell apical and basal secretory activities. Another Sertoli cell activity, the vectorial transferrin production was also studied in all culture conditions. A low constitutive IL-1 production appeared equally distributed between both poles, while IL-6 and transferrin constitutive production was predominantly directed apically. Two activators of macrophages, lipopolysaccharides and zymosan, were found to induce marked increases of IL-1 in the compartment where they had been added: basal if added to the lower compartment and vice versa. In contrast, after a basal stimulation, IL-6 production was mainly increased in the upper compartment that corresponds to a Sertoli cell apical flux. In this system, IL-1 and IL-6 levels were not modified by FSH; they were not also affected by residual bodies and latex beads, probably due to the fact that, in the bicameral system, phagocytosis is restricted to the Sertoli cells situated at the surface of the inner compartment. IL-1beta, but not IL-1alpha, induced IL-6 secretion in the compartment of stimulation. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that vectorial secretory patterns of IL-1 and IL-6 production greatly differ and that these cytokines are also differently regulated. These results suggest that Sertoli IL-1 and IL-6 have different targets within the testis and that, in normal and pathophysiological conditions, both the tubular and the interstitial compartments may be influenced by the action of these paracrine factors.