Prenatal development of murine gonads with special reference to germ cell differentiation: a morphological and immunohistochemical study.
Andrologia
; 39(3): 93-100, 2007 Jun.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-17683469
ABSTRACT
The prenatal differentiation of male and female gonads of the mouse was investigated both morphologically and immunohistochemically. Sexual dimorphism could be detected as early as 12 days post-coitum (dpc) by the appearance of the primary elements of the tunica albuginea and positive immunoreactivity for anti-Muellerian hormone in the Sertoli cells of the male gonad. Male germ cells passed two waves of mitotic activity, a first wave between 12 and 14 dpc, which is followed by apoptosis of the old germ cell generation, and a second wave between 17 and 20 dpc. Oct-4 was expressed as a juxtanuclear ring in the cytoplasm of germ cells up to 17 dpc. Subsequently, it was down-regulated and completely disappeared in 20 dpc full-term fetuses. By contrast, M2A antigen revealed only a weak immunoreaction in some germ cells of 14 dpc gonads, but exhibited strong signals in all germ cells of 20 dpc full-term fetuses. Therefore, we postulate that, in the mouse, prenatal germ cells represent two populations the first is immunopositive for Oct-4 and disappeared in full-term fetuses, whereas the second appeared in 14 dpc and is immunopositive for M2A antigen.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Ovário
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Testículo
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Diferenciação Celular
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2007
Tipo de documento:
Article