We have generated and analysed null mutations in the mouse genes encoding three structurally related receptors with tyrosine kinase activity: Tyro 3, Axl, and Mer. Mice lacking any single receptor, or any combination of two receptors, are viable and fertile, but male animals that lack all three receptors produce no mature sperm, owing to the progressive death of differentiating germ cells. This degenerative phenotype appears to result from a failure of the tropic support that is normally provided by Sertoli cells of the seminiferous tubules, whose function depends on testosterone and additional factors produced by Leydig cells. Tyro 3, Axl and Mer are all normally expressed by Sertoli cells during postnatal development, whereas their ligands, Gas6 and protein S, are produced by Leydig cells before sexual maturity, and by both Leydig and Sertoli cells thereafter. Here we show that the concerted activation of Tyro 3, Axl and Mer in Sertoli cells is critical to the role that these cells play as nurturers of developing germ cells. Additional observations indicate that these receptors may also be essential for the tropic maintenance of diverse cell types in the mature nervous, immune and reproductive systems.

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An important consequence of the suicide gene therapeutic paradigm is the phenomenon of bystander cell killing, the death of adjacent tumor cells not transduced with the thymidine kinase ( TK ) gene from herpes simplex virus ( HSV ) after treatment with the antiviral drug, ganciclovir ( GCV ). Evidence from quantitative in vitro assays of glioma cell lines suggest that both murine and human gliomas are similar in expressing high sensitivity to the bystander effect. In five of six glial tumors examined, the presence of only 5% of HSV -TK -expressing transduced cells in the culture resulted in > 90% tumor cell death / stasis after addition of GCV. Several lines of evidence support gap junction intercellular communication ( GJIC ) as important in the bystander effect. In vitro metabolic assays, performed with GCV in the medium, indicated that more tumor burden was reduced when culture conditions supported cell -cell contact of parental and HSV -TK -transduced cells. Additionally, a double dye transfer assay showed that cell communication through the gap junction is greatest for glioma, less for melanoma, and much less for colorectal carcinoma cell lines. In vitro metabolic assays with mixtures of TK + / TK À homologous tumor cells confirmed that glioma cell lines were more susceptible to bystander killing than melanomas. Assays with chimeric tumor mixtures of TK + / TK À cells showed that the level of the bystander killing obtained was characteristic of the TK À bystander cells. The in vitro findings were confirmed in vivo with GCV -treated homologous and chimeric tumors composed of TK + / TK À cells. Day 21 mean tumor volumes ( MTVs ) indicated the growths obtained were characteristic of the bystander activity reflective of the nontransduced cell population. Furthermore, nontransduced, high -GJIC cells in a chimeric tumor mass appeared to effectively bridge between transduced tumor cells and poorly communicating nontransduced cells. Finally, the importance of a gap junction protein, such as connexin -43, in facilitating the bystander effect was demonstrated with the HT29 low -GJIC cell line. When the TK -nontransduced cell population expressed connexin -43, a better bystander kill was achieved compared to the parental counterpart.